London has announced measures to end the truck driver shortage

The UK government has announced measures to end the truck driver shortage. The lack of truckers has been fueling fears of delivery problems on the island for a long time. The oil company BP announced this week that it would have to close some gas stations. Retailers warn of shortages in supplies for Christmas if the shortage is not resolved quickly. Fast food restaurants such as McDonalds and Nando's had run out of certain products at times. "We are considering temporary measures to prevent immediate problems, but any action we take will be strictly limited in time," said a spokeswoman for Prime Minister Boris Johnson's office. She didn't give any details. Newspapers reported that the government plans to allow up to 5,000 foreign truck drivers to enter the UK on short-term visas. Logistics companies and retailers have been demanding this for months, but the government had previously ruled out this. "We will set heaven and hell in motion to ensure that the bottlenecks are alleviated," said British Transport Minister Grant Shapps on Friday the broadcaster Sky News. Long queues formed again in front of many gas stations on Saturday morning. In addition to BP, some Shell and Esso stations also reported problems with the gasoline supply. "We have plenty of fuel in the country and the public should be reassured that there are no shortages," the Johnson spokeswoman told Downing Street. It is estimated that the UK transport industry is currently short of around 100,000 drivers. This is mainly due to the fact that many truckers returned to the European continent after Brexit. Since leaving the EU, strict immigration rules have been in place for EU citizens. After all, Prime Minister Johnson's Brexit pledge was: British jobs for British. EU citizens who are moving to the UK to work will therefore have to get expensive visas. The corona pandemic had additionally hindered the training and exams of new drivers in the UK. Experts warn that foreign professionals may not find the U-turn by the London government attractive at all. Because they would have to fear that they would have to leave the country again after a few months. Since numerous truck drivers are also wanted in the EU, the specialists could prefer a secure job in the international community.