(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-04-27 16:55

The government wants to avoid a repeat of scenes in 2000 when motorists were forced to line up at gas stations as truckers angry at heavily taxed fuel brought Britain to a standstill by blockading refineries. On Saturday, it urged drivers not to hoard fuel.

"There is plenty of petrol and diesel in Scotland to meet demand during this period of time," the government's business secretary, John Hutton, told the British Broadcasting Corp. "But of course there is going to be a challenge if people change the way that they consume fuel."

Pat Waters of the Automobile Association said he was not so sure.

"I think there will be some difficulties despite the assurances," he said, adding that rationing was a possibility.

Gas stations in and around Edinburgh were limiting gas purchases to 20 pounds — equivalent to $40 — per visit Saturday, and lines of cars formed beside some pumps. A number of stations ran out of gas and diesel by midmorning.

Some gas stations were charging 1.25 pounds ($2.47) Saturday for a liter of unleaded, up from about 1.08 pounds ($2.14)on Monday.

Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond said BP was releasing extra stocks to help meet demand, and that fuel arriving by boat from European ports would also help fill the gap.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown said the strike was unnecessary and called for new negotiations between Ineos and the workers' union, Unite. Talks to avert a strike broke down earlier this week.

Grangemouth's 1,200 workers planned the strike over pension issues, one of a series of labor disputes to hit Britain as the global economy weakens.

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