Fuel panic: ministers urged to apologise for 'shambles on petrol':
Government accused of encouraging panic-buying of petrol as garages report 81% week-on-week rise in fuel sales
Is petrol panic hitting pumps near you?
Labour has called on the government to apologise for causing a "shambles on petrol", as ministers insisted their call for motorists to top up fuel tanks ahead of a possible tanker drivers' strike was just sensible planning.
Ed Miliband called on David Cameron and Francis Maude, the Cabinet Office minister initially responsible for the message, to apologise. Miliband said: "The prime minister is presiding over a shambles on petrol."
He said in a statement: "In a delicate situation which demanded statesmanship, the government showed partisanship. They made a crude decision to play politics with petrol without regard for the consequence."
Sales of petrol and diesel have risen significantly after Maude advised drivers to consider filling up part-empty tanks and keeping a jerrycan of fuel in their garage following a vote organised by the Unite union for a possible strike by tanker drivers to try to improve health and safety standards in the industry.
The Retail Motor Industry Federation, which represents more than 5,500 petrol stations, said a survey of some members showed an 81% rise in petrol sales on Wednesday from the same day a week before, with an equivalent 43% increase in diesel sales.
While ministers say they are primarily concerned with avoiding the sort of panic-buying and shortages that accompanied a blockade of petrol terminals in 2000 in protest at fuel duty levels, Labour says Maude's advice was over-hasty given that Unite would need to give seven days' notice before any stoppage. Fire officers warned that keeping a jerrycan of fuel in a garage posed a fire risk.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, the roads minister, Mike Penning, said Maude's jerrycan advice was wrong. Penning said: "What Francis didn't quite realise is that a jerrycan holds 20 litres, and of course you're only allowed to have two five-litre cans of petrol if they're in plastic, or two 10-litre cans if they're in metal."
But he insisted that the wider point on keeping cars topped up with fuel was sensible: "What he [Maude] was trying to do was help people get though a very difficult situation. If the strike goes ahead – and we don't want the strike to go ahead, that's why we have Acas involved – it's going to be a much better-prepared situation if petrol tanks are topped up. You don't have to queue for it but if you're driving past [a garage] and you've got half a tank then top up."
The energy secretary, Ed Davey, gave similar advice on Sky News, saying motorists did not need to queue for fuel but should fill up ahead of the Easter getaway. He said: "We are under no illusion, the impacts of a tanker strike could be very severe for our economy, could really disrupt the lives of millions of people. So we are advising people to keep their fuel tanks topped up.
"If they have got a journey, maybe over the Easter holidays, they don't want their holidays disrupted by these strikers so they should make sure their tanks are full up well in advance."
But the Retail Motor Industry Federation said the government had "handled the situation badly from day one".
Brian Maddison from the group told ITV's Daybreak that one garage in Kent reported already selling out of fuel canisters: "That's the sort of bizarre behaviour that Francis Maude and the rest of the cabinet seem to have encouraged.
"They should have spoken to industry weeks ago when this situation was developing and we could have told them that since the fuel blockade in 2000, some 6,000 forecourts across the UK have closed for business."
Acas, the industrial conciliation service, is seeking to bring Unite and the seven haulage companies involved in the dispute together for talks.
In the meantime, Cameron has been seeking to prepare troops to drive tankers if a strike takes place. An emergency meeting on Wednesday, chaired by the prime minister, drew up plans to increase the number of troops entitled to drive tankers by shortening the training period.
Downing Street has said ministers are not embarking on a political operation. However, Conservative party officials distributed leaflets showing that tanker drivers earn up to £47,500, considerably more than a staff sergeant bomb disposal expert in Afghanistan, who earns £35,000.
Miliband has found himself under pressure to condemn the possible strike, organised by a union which is a highly significant source of Labour party funds.
guardian.co.uk © 2012 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
Government accused of encouraging panic-buying of petrol as garages report 81% week-on-week rise in fuel sales
Is petrol panic hitting pumps near you?
Labour has called on the government to apologise for causing a "shambles on petrol", as ministers insisted their call for motorists to top up fuel tanks ahead of a possible tanker drivers' strike was just sensible planning.
Ed Miliband called on David Cameron and Francis Maude, the Cabinet Office minister initially responsible for the message, to apologise. Miliband said: "The prime minister is presiding over a shambles on petrol."
He said in a statement: "In a delicate situation which demanded statesmanship, the government showed partisanship. They made a crude decision to play politics with petrol without regard for the consequence."
Sales of petrol and diesel have risen significantly after Maude advised drivers to consider filling up part-empty tanks and keeping a jerrycan of fuel in their garage following a vote organised by the Unite union for a possible strike by tanker drivers to try to improve health and safety standards in the industry.
The Retail Motor Industry Federation, which represents more than 5,500 petrol stations, said a survey of some members showed an 81% rise in petrol sales on Wednesday from the same day a week before, with an equivalent 43% increase in diesel sales.
While ministers say they are primarily concerned with avoiding the sort of panic-buying and shortages that accompanied a blockade of petrol terminals in 2000 in protest at fuel duty levels, Labour says Maude's advice was over-hasty given that Unite would need to give seven days' notice before any stoppage. Fire officers warned that keeping a jerrycan of fuel in a garage posed a fire risk.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, the roads minister, Mike Penning, said Maude's jerrycan advice was wrong. Penning said: "What Francis didn't quite realise is that a jerrycan holds 20 litres, and of course you're only allowed to have two five-litre cans of petrol if they're in plastic, or two 10-litre cans if they're in metal."
But he insisted that the wider point on keeping cars topped up with fuel was sensible: "What he [Maude] was trying to do was help people get though a very difficult situation. If the strike goes ahead – and we don't want the strike to go ahead, that's why we have Acas involved – it's going to be a much better-prepared situation if petrol tanks are topped up. You don't have to queue for it but if you're driving past [a garage] and you've got half a tank then top up."
The energy secretary, Ed Davey, gave similar advice on Sky News, saying motorists did not need to queue for fuel but should fill up ahead of the Easter getaway. He said: "We are under no illusion, the impacts of a tanker strike could be very severe for our economy, could really disrupt the lives of millions of people. So we are advising people to keep their fuel tanks topped up.
"If they have got a journey, maybe over the Easter holidays, they don't want their holidays disrupted by these strikers so they should make sure their tanks are full up well in advance."
But the Retail Motor Industry Federation said the government had "handled the situation badly from day one".
Brian Maddison from the group told ITV's Daybreak that one garage in Kent reported already selling out of fuel canisters: "That's the sort of bizarre behaviour that Francis Maude and the rest of the cabinet seem to have encouraged.
"They should have spoken to industry weeks ago when this situation was developing and we could have told them that since the fuel blockade in 2000, some 6,000 forecourts across the UK have closed for business."
Acas, the industrial conciliation service, is seeking to bring Unite and the seven haulage companies involved in the dispute together for talks.
In the meantime, Cameron has been seeking to prepare troops to drive tankers if a strike takes place. An emergency meeting on Wednesday, chaired by the prime minister, drew up plans to increase the number of troops entitled to drive tankers by shortening the training period.
Downing Street has said ministers are not embarking on a political operation. However, Conservative party officials distributed leaflets showing that tanker drivers earn up to £47,500, considerably more than a staff sergeant bomb disposal expert in Afghanistan, who earns £35,000.
Miliband has found himself under pressure to condemn the possible strike, organised by a union which is a highly significant source of Labour party funds.
guardian.co.uk © 2012 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
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