PM refuses to ‘pull lever marked uncontrolled immigration’
As well as an estimated shortfall of 100,000 HGV drivers, businesses from meat producers to retailers have warned of empty shelves if the shortages are not addressed.
Mr Johnson acknowledged the country is going through a “period of adjustment” following Brexit, which has cut off the supply of labour from the EU.
But he insisted he is not prepared to resolve the situation by pulling “the big lever marked uncontrolled immigration” to let in more foreign workers.
He said firms should ensure their employees are “decently paid” if they want to get more staff.
The Prime Minister also spoke about the supply chain issues as he visited a Network Rail site in Manchester with Mr Sunak on Monday morning.
“That’s really a function of the world economy, particularly the UK economy, coming back to life after Covid, sucking in gas in particular – there is a massive demand for that in Asia,” he said.
“There is a shortage of lorry drivers actually around the world, from Poland to the United States, and even in China they are short of lorry drivers.”
