2021 United Kingdom fuel supply crisis

[4][5] By 26 September 2021, BP, which operates 1,200 stations in the United Kingdom, estimated that 30% of their sites did not have either of the main grades of fuel, unleaded 95 RON petrol and "standard" diesel".

[9] A week after the panic buying had started, getting petrol in the South East of England was still a problem, although the situation had improved in the north and the Midlands.

[10][12] On the following day, the organisation issued a statement stating that "The fuel is still not going to the pumps that need it most in London and the South East... [but the] crisis is virtually at an end in Scotland, the North and Midlands".

[16] Due to problems with the supply chain in January 2021, one of these schemes, the relaxation of drivers' hours, had already been implemented earlier in the year and subsequently extended to October, so it was already in place when the panic started.

[17] On 26 September UK Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng announced the oil industry will be exempted from the Competition Act 1998 so that companies can coordinate and deliver petroleum products easier in light of fuel shortages brought on by panic buying.

Multiple sources have stated that an industry task force meeting took place on Zoom on 16 September where BP fuel stock levels were discussed.

[28] An analysis by i of fuel delivery data showed that although there was a slight dip in forecourt stock levels just before it, that during the supply crisis fuel deliveries to forecourts did not drop significantly and concluded, based on comparisons with historic supply and demand level patterns, that panic buying was the cause of any shortages.

[29] Fuel retailers say that in the run up to the introduction of E10 petrol, planned for 1 September 2021, that they had already been emptying their tanks ready to make the change when the panic buying took hold and quickly drained them.

[39] Industry commentators have noted that despite driver shortages, EU countries have not experienced supply problems to petrol station forecourts, and this has been attributed to the greater flexibility of labour deployment and cabotage within the European Single Market.

The lyrics to the chorus were changed to: "Britain's panic buying/Petrol pumps are dying/Said Brexit would be fine and turns out they were lying/Fuel is running real low/ Need European blokes/ To come through in their HGVs".