£8bn SHELL PROFITS FUEL NEW WINDFALL TAX CALL

PRESSURE ON PM TO ACT AFTER £1,000-A-SECOND PROFITS AS FAMILIES FACE UP TO WINTER CRISIS

- Nicholas Cecil and Jonathan Prynn

 

RISHI SUNAK came under growing pressure today to extend a windfall tax on gas and oil giants after Shell raked in more than £8 billion in profits in just three months.

As millions of families in Britain face a cold winter due to soaring energy bills, senior MPs urged the Prime Minister and Chancellor Jeremy Hunt to target the massive earnings of gas-producing firms.

Cabinet minister Nadhim Zahawi said the Government would be considering changes to the windfall tax, which he stressed was already bringing in £5 billion a year, ahead of the Autumn Statement on November 17. The huge Shell profits of more than £1,000 a second turned up the heat on the Government to act given the worsening cost-of-living crisis.

Many households, including pensioners, are delaying putting on the heating because of the high cost of gas, which soared after Vladimir Putin cut supplies in his economic war on the West following his invasion of Ukraine. Shell reported profits, which have more than doubled, of £8.2 billion between July and September, their second highest quarter on record.

‘Time for a proper tax as winter looms’