A year ago, Boris Johnson claimed to be battling Covid-19 to “save Christmas”. Now he is facing a multi-fronted shortage crisis that industry leaders say raises the prospect of scaled-down dinners as demand surges in the festive season thetimes.co.uk/article/fuel-a…
Rising gas prices, a lack of skilled meatpackers and the shortage of HGV drivers now threatens to result in a food shortage

As the army prepares to start driving fuel tankers, a spectacular row has erupted in Whitehall between business leaders and ministers over who is to blame
Industry accuses the government of failing to listen to months of warnings, while ministers take to the airwaves to express absolute confidence that all will be fine.
Supply shortages have knock-on effects on other areas.
In a worrying trend for Christmas and retailers struggling to get back on their feet after the pandemic, consumer products are affected.
Construction is suffering from issues in getting raw materials.
Most motorists in the UK are already aware of the problems with getting petrol at the moment, but carmakers are also struggling to get all the parts they need.
Even well before the Christmas season, we’re already seeing shelf shortages.
Rod McKenzie, managing director of the Road Haulage Association, said that a promise by ministers a week ago of three-month visas for 5,000 drivers, “simply does not work.”

Another major retail boss was blunter: “5,000 drivers is pissing in the wind.”
Ministers say they have been working since the spring on problems such as speeding up HGV testing, the true failure has been the industry’s reluctance to plan to end its reliance on cheap labour
thetimes.co.uk/article/fuel-a…
The head of the Food and Drink Federation said that when businesses first raised problems at Easter, ministers only wanted to talk about Covid and Brexit transition. “There was also a degree of scepticism about what we were saying. Remember most politicians never go shopping.”

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More from @thetimes

2 Oct
Seven months before his triumph in Tokyo, Tom Daley (@TomDaley1994) was rushed to hospital with Covid

The gold medallist reveals for the first time what happened thetimes.co.uk/article/tom-da…
Britain’s most decorated diver turned crafting icon arrives on foot to his interview with The Times, a suitcase of homemade creations in tow

Daley took up needles during lockdown – sight many witnessed on the sidelines of this year’s Olympics
“My coach wanted me to find something to chill out with and stop me overthinking”

He shows off his “cosy” – a little woollen home he fashioned for his long-anticipated medal, featuring the Union Jack on one side and the Japanese flag on the other.
Read 10 tweets
2 Oct
“People are going to have a great Christmas”

In an interview with The Times, Boris Johnson has promised that "this Christmas will be considerably better than last" when asked about the risks that worker shortages pose to supplies over the holiday
thetimes.co.uk/article/boris-…
In a wide-ranging interview on the eve of the Conservative Party conference, Boris Johnson brushes aside the rising threat of economic turmoil and tells Steven Swinford (@Steven_Swinford) that companies must increase salaries and investment
Johnson reserves his strongest intervention for police following the murder of Sarah Everard 

The force, he says, are failing to take violence against women and girls seriously

“It’s infuriating. The public feel that they aren’t, and they’re not wrong” thetimes.co.uk/article/boris-…
Read 6 tweets
1 Oct
There has been a 787% increase in autism diagnoses over the past 20 years — particularly among women

Why has it been going undiagnosed for so long?
thetimes.co.uk/article/women-…
“I thought that I can’t be autistic, I really care about people. It’s really embarrassing to even say this now because it’s such a mistaken idea.”

When Charlotte’s autistic friend suggested to her that she too could be on the spectrum, she laughed it off at first
As a child, Charlotte was always seen as eccentric and living in her own world, but no one inquired about it. Her brother, who has ADHD, drew more attention because adults wanted to stop what they saw as his disruptive behaviour
Read 12 tweets
1 Oct
#WorldatFive: No longer fought over by the forces that tore Syria, Raqqa has become an unlikely haven for families fleeing problems from all directions.
thetimes.co.uk/article/raqqa-…
Paradise Square was once famous as the roundabout where Islamic State crucified and displayed the heads of its victims. Now it has a Nutella House café.
The café, newly built next to one of the bombsites that filled Raqqa four years ago, is just one symptom of the city’s stark change in fortunes.
Read 7 tweets
1 Oct
The lightning-quick development of effective Covid vaccines is one of the great scientific successes of our age. But behind this scientific triumph lies a murkier financial tale

@billykenber finds out the truth

thetimes.co.uk/article/how-bi…
Before the fate of the global economy hung in the balance and the search for immunity became pretty much the most important thing in the world, the giants of Big Pharma didn’t really care about vaccines
Vaccines were seen as a distraction from the vast financial rewards that new drugs for diabetes, cancer and other diseases of the rich could bring
Read 12 tweets
1 Oct
In many respects, Daniel Craig’s 007 has become a real, credible modern man. He has also become a much more believable spy, writes @BenMacintyre1. thetimes.co.uk/article/how-no…
The earlier 007 was not really an MI6 officer at all, although that is what he purported to be. He was an assassin, operating semi-independently, with a limitless supply of weaponry, a bottomless expense account and a drinking problem.
The secret agent-lothario now treats women with respect, even love. Today he would never force himself on a non-consenting Pussy Galore, as he did in Goldfinger.

He doesn’t drink like he used to. He doesn’t kill with quite the same abandon or relish. The casual racism is gone.
Read 12 tweets

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