Professor Nick Butler warns diesel could hit £2+ per litre and says it would be ‘perfectly sensible’ for ministers to tell workers to stay at home to save fuel
The Government ought to promote remote working as a means of addressing energy shortages in the aftermath of the conflict in Iran, according to a former Government adviser. Professor Nick Butler, previously vice-president for strategy and policy at oil giant BP, described it as “perfectly sensible” for ministers to urge employees to remain at home, cautioning that the cost of diesel could still climb a “good deal” north of £2 per litre.
US-Israeli military action in Iran since February has driven oil prices to record highs, with costs surging more than 60% so far this year as the blockade of the crucial shipping lane, the Strait of Hormuz, persists.
“Some countries, I think particularly in Asia where the crisis has hit earliest, they’re taking an extra day a week at home,” he told Times Radio.
“People are being encouraged to work at home. And I think you have to test now whether there’s a willingness.
“And as I read the behavioural science, people do respond. They don’t all do it perfectly, but they respond if other people are responding.”
When asked whether the Government should formally recommend working from home, Prof Butler said: “Yes, I think that that would be a perfectly sensible measure.”
Prof Butler, who served as an adviser to Gordon Brown during his tenure as prime minister, further warned that diesel prices could soar even higher, suggesting the worst is still to come.
He warned: “The real crisis for Britain and for Europe will come at the end of April and in early May, when the real shortage will translate into both a physical shortage and a sharp rise in prices.
“I don’t think we’ve yet seen the full impact on prices of this loss of supply.”
When questioned whether diesel costs could surge beyond £2 per litre, he responded: “It could go a good deal north of that.
“The jet fuel prices doubled, and I think that could go further north as well.
“I think there’s been a degree of complacency and a belief that Mr (Donald) Trump would always come back into line and there would be a deal, and then everything would be OK.”
