Hundreds of troops are being deployed today to restock fuel stations across Britain.
Some 200 servicemen will focus on London and the South East where petrol levels are most severely depleted after nearly a fortnight of panic buying.
Ministers have faced criticism for not sending them out earlier, and a former soldier says his scheme to give military lorry drivers the civilian equivalent qualification is ‘falling on deaf ears’.
On the opening day of the Conservative party conference, prime minister Boris Johnson said he was confident the crisis was ‘abating’.
But he repeatedly refused to rule out shortages in the wider economy in the run up to Christmas.
As well as an estimated shortfall of 100,000 lorry drivers, businesses from meat producers to retail, have warned of empty shelves if the shortages are not addressed.
Mr Johnson acknowledged the country was going through a ‘period of adjustment’ following Brexit, which has cut off the supply of labour from the EU.
He insisted that he was not prepared to resolve the situation by pulling ‘the big lever marked uncontrolled immigration’ to let in more foreign workers.
This morning the chancellor Rishi Sunak was asked on LBC why it took more than a week to get the army on the case.
He replied: ‘Because fundamentally we know there are enough supplies at the terminals and the issue was a demand spike.
‘But, as a precaution, we’ve put the extra drivers on but the situation has been improving now for over a week.
‘As demand settles back to more normal levels, the strong expectation is that things will resolve themselves.’ He added: ‘People should know we’re doing everything we can, and I know it’s frustrating.’
Former soldier Darren Wright said there are thousands of veterans who would gleefully take up employment as a driver to help put an end to the crisis.
It would take just four weeks with the right government support to convert their military HGV licences into the Driver Certificate of Professional Competence, he believes.
Mr Wright of the not-for-profit group Veterans into Logistics said the country needs a drivers’ ‘bootcamp’ to fast-track people.
He told the Telegraph: ‘To get out of this mess and speed things up we all need to work together.
‘We’ve been lobbying hard. Companies are screaming out for drivers, but the idea fell on deaf ears.’
He added: ‘People say it’s a dying trade, but it’s not. I’ve got thousands of young people in Manchester who want to be truck drivers. It’s a skill.
‘We shouldn’t be in this position as a country, we shouldn’t have a shortage of truck drivers. It’s been coming for a long time.’
His campaign is being supported by Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham, with 60 local veterans set to undergo training.
MORE : Fuel crisis still ‘absolutely horrendous’ in South East as Army drivers roll out
MORE : London petrol stations cash in on fuel crisis as price per litre soars to £3
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