UK PM says fuel problems driven by demand, immigration is no solution

Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson gestures as he walks out of his hotel during the annual Conservative Party conference, in Manchester, Britain, October 3, 2021. REUTERS/Toby Melville

MANCHESTER, England (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Sunday any difficulty drivers were having in filling up with petrol is due to demand and ruled out relying on immigration to boost the numbers of truck drivers to deliver the fuel.

At the beginning of his governing Conservative Party conference, Johnson was again pressed on how he was tackling Britain's fuel, gas and burgeoning Christmas food crises.

"The way forward for our country is not to just pull the big lever marked uncontrolled immigration, and allow in huge numbers of people to do work," he told the BBC's Andrew Marr Show.

"So what I won't do is go back to the old failed model of low wages, low skills supported by uncontrolled immigration."

(Reporting by Kylie MacLellan and Elizabeth Piper, Editing by Paul Sandle)