Britain’s finance minister Rishi Sunak on Thursday unveiled a sizeable support package for consumers hit by soaring energy bills, with help from a temporary windfall tax on the energy sector.A government package worth £15 billion (€17.6 billion) will be funded in part by an exceptional levy on soaring profits enjoyed by the likes of BP and Shell that have benefitted massively from surging oil and gas prices.

This move is a U-turn for embattled Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who has insisted such a move would hinder efforts by oil majors to invest in greener energy.

Yesterday Johnson promised to “move on” from a critical report about his leadership that allowed lockdown-breaking parties at Downing Street. Both Johnson and Sunak were fined by police over one breach of the laws they set for the public, causing widespread outrage. But Downing Street’s chief of staff Steve Barclay dismissed suggestions the announcement was timed to deflect attention from the “Partygate” scandal. “There is a huge pressure coming for families in terms of energy costs,” he told Sky News.

In paying for “targeted support”, the government needed to “look at the balance between how much is done through debt, and how much is done through revenue raising,” he added.

Britain’s annual inflation rate has surged to a 40-year high on rocketing energy costs, squeezing household budgets and leaving many struggling to make ends meet.

Britain’s annual inflation rate has surged to a 40-year high on rocketing energy costs, squeezing household budgets and leaving many struggling to make ends meet

Inflation, as measured by the consumer price index, hit 9.0 per cent in April from 7.0 per cent in March, recent official data showed.

Countries around the world are experiencing decades-high inflation as the Ukraine conflict pushes up energy and food prices, in turn forcing the Bank of England and other central banks to ramp up interest rates.