A gas station near London on Sunday. The government in Britain has said that 5,000 fuel tanker and food truck drivers would be allowed to work in the country for the three months up to Christmas.Credit…Adrian Dennis/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images LONDON — Responding to an escalating crisis, Prime Minister Boris Johnson of Britain reversed course this weekend and offered thousands of visas to foreign truckers to combat a driver shortage that has left some supermarket shelves empty and caused long lines at gas stations. The decision, announced late Saturday , reflects the growing alarm within the government over a disruption to supplies that has prompted panic buying and, in some places, caused fuel to run out and gas stations to close. So great is the concern that there has been speculation that the military could be called up to drive trucks . That has not yet happened, but […]