British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has approved the relaxation of UK immigration rules to allow more foreign truck drivers into the country to ease shortages at petrol stations and wider economic disruption.
The government has faced mounting criticism from retailers and the haulage industry as a shortage of drivers caused by Brexit has led to increased supply chain disruption.
One person close to the situation said the prime minister had issued instructions to fix the escalating problem. “Boris wants this solved,” the Financial Times newspaper reported.
An ally of Johnson reportedly added: “Boris is completely fed up with bad headlines on this and wants it sorted and doesn’t care about visa limits any more.”
Hardline Home Secretary Priti Patel has opposed giving temporary visas to foreign truck drivers, arguing it would lead to a stampede of different industries demanding similar preferential treatment.
However, fears of panic buying at petrol stations had seen her change position and agree to the proposal, the report added.
