If Britons continue to panic buy the nation should be ready for wartime-style food rationing to be introduced, an academic expert has warned.

Bryce Evans, associate professor of history and politics at Liverpool Hope University, said although we are not quite at crisis stage, he said urging the public to cut back on how much they are buying just ‘won’t work’. Mr Evans also insisted it was an unfair job for ‘poor’ supermarket workers to be tasked with, as many have been subjected to aggressive and violent behaviour when imposing item limits.

His comments come as UK supermarket shelves remain empty, with shoppers queuing round buildings before 6am. Some will be panic buying and others simply need to grab a few essentials that won’t be available by lunch time.

The hysteria has led to some even getting into physical confrontations over low-stocked items, while NHS staff have broken down in tears when finding nothing to eat after caring for coronavirus-stricken patients.

The professor said in order to stop potential food shortages, the government must learn from the First and Second World Wars, and warned ‘there is a risk we’re still not taking this crisis seriously enough when it comes to our food supply’.

He told the Daily Mail: ‘There needs to be a big shift in current consumption behaviours, because it’s a matter of weeks before things start to become a real problem if we continue in the same vein.

‘And I can see rationing on the horizon. Both wars show us that what the government is doing right now – telling people not to panic buy, to voluntarily curtail consumption – just doesn’t work, sadly.

‘It has to be followed up with a clear, government-led rationing system of essential goods. This was previously done in collaboration with retailers and it can be replicated again, accompanied by price controls and greater penalties for the worst racketeers and black marketeers’.

The professor, who has written extensively on nutrition and food supplies during war times, said an online ration system ‘would also seem likely’ to stop hundreds of people showing up to one supermarket at a time, which increases the risk of virus transmission.

He also said UK officials could introduce a new Ministry of Food to deliver food shopping, which would be paid for online with ration coupons.

Among other proposals he said could be a possibility if things escalate, the professor predicted empty school kitchens could be utilised for making food en masse which could then be delivered to doorsteps.

He drew comparisons with methods used in wartime Britain, when drivers would distribute food after bombing raids, and said the UberEats or Deliveroo models could be taken over by the government, which ‘could represent the end of consumerism as we know it’.

Professor Evans also raised concerns that the poorest in society are already suffering, as food banks continue to close as volunteers self-isolate and the public donate less due to item shortages.

He said the system is already under ‘enormous strain’ and if things accelerate as fast as they have in countries like Italy and Spain, ‘we have a problem’ as much of our food is imported from Europe and other countries.

If this should happen, he suggested agricultural efforts would be dramatically ramped up to increase Britain’s farming production and become more self-sufficient.

His comments come as off-licences have been added to the government’s list of ‘essential’ shops, after supermarkets ran out of alcohol amid the nationwide lockdown.

The number of confirmed cases in the UK currently stands at 9,529. Another 28 people died yesterday, bringing the death toll to 465.

A government spokesperson said: ‘We will do whatever it takes to ensure people have the food and supplies they need. Retailers are continuing to monitor their supply chains and taking all the necessary steps to ensure consumers have the food and supplies they need’.

The spokesperson added that supermarkets have already taken action to limit the supply of certain products to make sure shelves remain stocked, adding ‘it is crucial we all respect and adhere to these decisions’.

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