RISHI IS WARNED BOOST MAY NOT BE ENOUGH

CHANCELLOR 'MAY HAVE TO PROP UP HIS £15BN AID PACKAGE AGAIN NEXT SPRING'| 'Risk of pushing inflation even higher if Chancellor dishes out more help'

- David Bond and Rachael Burford

RISHI SUNAK will come under pressure to hand out billions more in emergency support to help struggling households deal with rising energy bills, leading economists warned today.

The Chancellor yesterday announced a £15 billion aid package including a £400 energy bills rebate for all families in the autumn and additional payments worth £650 for eight million of the poorest households.

But with energy prices set to remain high well into next year - partly caused by the ongoing war in Ukraine - the influential Institute for Fiscal Studies said Mr Sunak may have to dish out even more money next spring, at the risk of pushing record levels of inflation even higher.

Paul Johnson, Director of the IFS, said the Chancellor faced "extraordinarily difficult decisions" later this year, adding: "He will be under pressure I suspect again this time next year when energy prices will still be high [and] households will still be struggling, to put more money in.