Oil giants BP and Shell are on course to make a combined profit of almost £40bn this year from the rocketing price of petrol and gas, fuelling calls for a windfall tax on energy firms to ease the cost of living crisis.
Before BP’s annual results this week, anti-poverty campaigners described the profits of oil producers as “obscene” and demanded the government take action to tax their surplus cash to support poorer families hit by rising energy bills.
