Britain Deploys Soldiers To Deliver Fuel, Says Official

Petrol stations’ union says only 27% reported being out of gasoline while taxi drivers say there appeared to be little signs of the situation improving

LONDON

Britain ordered soldiers on Wednesday to start driving fuel tankers to replenish empty pumps, as motorists remained mired in queues after nearly a week of shortages, despite Prime Minister Boris Johnson saying the situation was improving.

The British government’s reserve tanker fleet was being deployed to help deliver gasoline to empty pumps across the UK, and military drivers will begin operating fuel tankers in the coming days to ease the country’s fuel-supply crisis, Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said.

Kwarteng added the first of dozens of troops trained to operate gasoline tanker trucks will start appearing on the roads within days.

“It takes, sometimes, a few days to get troops on the ground. We have decided to do that. I think in the next couple of days you will see some soldiers driving tankers,” Kwarteng told reporters.

He added that the government’s reserve tanker fleet, driven by civilian drivers, will begin providing “additional logistical capacity to the fuel industry” beginning on Wednesday.