LABOUR issued a list of demands to the government yesterday to help clamp down on coronavirus panic buying and assure the public that there is enough food to go round.

Shadow environment, food and rural affairs secretary Luke Pollard wrote to his government counterpart George Eustice, expressing his concern that panic buying and stockpiling “will get worse with stricter social distancing measures as people worry that these will remain in place for many months.”

The government has admitted that the nationwide lockdown could continue until June.

Mr Pollard said: “I appreciate it must be frustrating when your attempts to reassure the public that there are no shortages of supply are undermined when we see empty supermarket shelves and online delivery slots unavailable for several weeks.” 

He wrote that supermarkets should be given “robust” guidance on allowing priority access for elderly and vulnerable people and key workers.

He asked the government to outline how it would accelerate disclosure and barring service (DBS) checks on volunteers to boost the number of foodbank distributors.

The government should also say what steps it is taking to mandate an “uninterrupted supply of food to foodbanks,” he wrote.

He called on the government to launch a national advertising campaign to encourage people to “shop sensibly” and to assure them that there is enough food to go round.

“Ministers must not rely on the private sector to distribute these messages, government must take the lead,” he said, referring to supermarkets and high street shops stipulating that customers can buy only a limited number of long-life items.

Mr Pollard also suggested that the government should arrange for drivers who have been furloughed or made redundant to be quickly recruited by supermarkets and distributors to expand the supply and delivery networks.