Boris Johnson has refused to rule out slapping a windfall tax on the profits of oil and gas giants as pressure mounts on the Government to ease the cost of living crisis.
The Prime Minister said he didn't like this type of levy but said "we'll have to look at it" - in the strongest signal yet that the idea is being considered.
Brits are being clobbered by rising energy bills while firms rake in huge earnings - with senior Tory MP Robert Halfon describing oil bosses as the "new oligarchs".
Rishi Sunak has reportedly told officials to examine how a potential windfall tax would work after being concerned by sluggish investment from energy giants in infrastructure despite huge profits.
It comes after BP chief executive Bernard Looney said his firm's investment plans would not be affected by a windfall tax.
One insider told the Mail that a one-off levy was a "no-brainer if the chief executives themselves are saying they have no problem with it".
A Government source told the Mirror that ministers still believe a windfall tax would deter investment.
But the source said they "want to see more ambitious investment plans brought forward by the industry and faster".
In an interview with LBC, the Prime Minister said he still does not like such taxes because of the impact on investment - but it is something that the Government would have to consider.
Asked about the BP chiefs comments, Mr Johnson said: "Well, you know, then we'll have to look at it."
But he added: "The disadvantage with those sorts of taxes is that they deter investment in the very things that they need to be investing in - new technology, in new energy supply.
"I don't like them. I didn't think they're the right thing. I don't think they're the right way forward. I want those companies to make big, big investments."
The PM's official spokesman said: "We do not think this is the right approach."
But he added: “We do keep options on the table, rightly so. That’s the right approach given the challenges we’re seeing.”
Senior Tory backbencher Robert Halfon branded oil company bosses "the new oligarchs" as he broke ranks to back a windfall tax.
He told the Today programme: "I do think that the Government should consider properly a windfall tax.
"Oil companies or oil bosses are the new oligarchs - one of them earning a salary over £76 million, getting a £4.5 million bonus."
The Harlow MP pointed to "the way oil companies are ripping off motorists at the pump by not reducing the price quickly when the oil price falls internationally".
Arguing that windfall taxes were not "un-Conservative", Mr Halfon argued: "Margaret Thatcher did it, David Cameron has done it, Conservative governments have imposed windfall tax on oil companies in times of need."
The PM has taken his top team for an away day in Stoke-on-Trent to try to bang the drum for the Queen's Speech.
Mr Johnson ordered ministers to dream up ideas to ease the cost-of-living nightmare facing Brits, but he continued to resist pressure to hold an emergency budget.
Downing Street was forced to deny that ministers are preparing an emergency budget to deal with the cost-of-living crisis after the Prime Minister suggested in the Queen's Speech debate on Tuesday that there would be more help in the days to come.
Mr Johnson indicated there would be additional support over the summer rather than waiting for the Budget in the autumn to act.
"There is more coming down the track. July and so on," he said.
"But what we will do is use all the ingenuity and compassion that we have and the fiscal firepower that we have as a result of the strong economic growth we had coming out of the pandemic.
"Our growth will return very strongly in the next couple of years."
