Petrol queues form despite assurance of supplies in Scotland

Queues have formed at petrol stations in Scotland, despite assurances that there is no shortage of fuel.

The UK government urged motorists to fill up "as normal" after delivery issues led to some forecourt closures.

The Road Haulage Association (RHA) said there was enough fuel to go around and the AA said any issues were restricted to individual garages.

A small number of BP and Esso-owned Tesco Alliance stations closed on Thursday over a lack of tanker drivers.

On Friday cars were seen queuing at petrol stations in Braehead and Livingston. The RHA said there were also reports of some queues in Aberdeen.

The Scottish government said there was no shortage of fuel supplies in Scotland.

Louise Moules, the RHA regional operations manager for Scotland and Northern Ireland, told BBC Scotland that panic buying was "concerning".

She said: "There is enough fuel to go around. It's not like the station is going to run out of fuel today and not have any for two weeks.

"Chances are they will have a delivery tomorrow. It's just that deliveries are fewer than they would normally be.

"There is not a fuel shortage. It is just issues with the supply chain and trying to get drivers."

It is estimated that the UK is short of about 100,000 HGV drivers - with gaps made worse by the pandemic and Brexit.

The RHA has urged the government to relax visa restrictions for foreign workers in the short term to ease the driver shortage.

Ms Moules said that finding tanker drivers posed additional issues because they have to be more qualified than a standard HGV driver.

"They have to be qualified in the movement of hazardous goods. I don't think this will be solved tomorrow. It will certainly be like this for the next few weeks."

She said the situation was the "perfect storm" of Brexit, which saw many European drivers return to their home countries, the impact of tax changes, Covid and an ageing workforce.

"Adding HGV drivers to the shortage occupation list will help, but it is a little like putting a sticking plaster over a bullet wound."

UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said people should buy petrol as normal and that refineries had "plenty of petrol".

He also told the BBC that the government could bring in the Army to drive fuel tankers if need be.

The AA said that most of the UK's forecourts were working as they should amid worries over supply of petrol at some sites.

"Thousands of forecourts are operating normally with just a few suffering temporary supply chain problems," said AA president Edmund King.

"Fridays and the weekend always tend to be busier on forecourts as drivers either combine filling up with shopping runs, prepare for weekend trips or refuel for the start of the new working week.

"Drivers should not fill up outside their normal routines because, even if the occasional petrol station is temporarily closed, others just down the road will be open.

"It is now clear that there have been occasional delays over recent weeks that have been managed with hardly anyone noticing. This was a manageable problem."

A spokesman for Esso said that the majority of the 1,200 Esso branded sites in the UK are owned and operated by a number of independent retail companies that are responsible for arranging supplies of Esso fuel to their sites.

Speaking about the company's own operations, he said: "A small number of our 200 Tesco Alliance retail sites are impacted in some way.

"We are working closely with all parties in our distribution network to optimise supplies and minimise any inconvenience to customers. We apologise to our customers for any inconvenience."

A spokesman for BP said: "We are experiencing fuel supply issues at some of our retail sites in the UK and unfortunately have therefore seen a handful of sites temporarily close due to a lack of both unleaded and diesel grades.

"These have been caused by delays in the supply chain, which has been impacted by industry-wide driver shortages across the UK and we are working hard to address this issue. "

The United Kingdom Petroleum Industry Association (UKPIA) said that the UK's supply chain was "resilient" and that fuel was currently getting to the vast majority of consumers.

A spokesman said: "There have been a few confirmed reports of temporary forecourt grade-outs in parts of the UK. These have been caused by some delays in the supply chain due to haulier driver shortages, which are not unique to the downstream sector but are being seen across the economy.

"Industry and government will continue to work together to reinforce the sector's workforce to ensure fuel and other supply chains remain strong for years to come."

The Scottish government said that it was monitoring the situation and supporting the sector and consumers where it could.

The first minister chaired a meeting of the government's resilience committee on Wednesday.

A spokesman said: "Although energy and gas supply are reserved issues, ministers were actively engaging in urgent discussion with the sector and pressing the UK government to take urgent steps to maintain security of our energy supplies and to support domestic, business and industrial consumers given the current market conditions.

"There is no shortage of fuel and supplies are operating as normal in Scotland."