Thousands of truckers are missing in the UK. The government is now taking unusual steps: it is soliciting candidates by letter, even from Germans who have never driven a truck.

The acute shortage of truckers in Britain has drastic consequences: long lines form in front of gas stations that are still open, as many cannot refuel in time. The supermarket shelves are also partially empty. The British Ministry of Transport has also written to Germans living in England: they should get behind the wheel of a truck.

Many drivers from Eastern Europe left the country during the pandemic. Due to strict entry rules after Brexit, many do not return. The government now hopes to remedy the situation with short-term visas for several thousand drivers until Christmas. In addition, according to the “Independent”, around a million people with a truck driver license in England received a letter with the following note: “There has never been a better time to find a trucking job that suits you.” However, this includes many Germans who live in the UK but, it should be noted, for the most part have never driven a truck.

“Thanks, Boris!”

The reason: German driving licenses issued before 1999 entitle you to drive a truck weighing up to 7.5 tonnes, which corresponds to a medium size. Now the letter from the Minister of Transport, Charlotte Vere, asked to consider “a return” to the trucking sector.

A letter was also sent to Peter Neumann, professor of security studies at King’s College London and a member of the future CDU team. He shared the letter on Twitter and said: “Good news: if the policy doesn’t work, I can still become a truck driver in England. Thanks Boris!” Behind it he put laughing emojis. Several other people have posted that they have received such a letter, including epidemiologist Sibylle Mohr. One person writes, “Wow, that seems hopeless.”

On Friday night, the AFP news agency reported that the army should intervene first from Monday. Soldiers are supposed to deliver gasoline to gas stations.