Sunak’s £15bn cost of living package not enough, says Asda boss

Shoppers in an Asda store. Rose said the supermarket was spending £90m trying to keep prices low. Photograph: Daniel Leal/AFP/Getty Images

The government’s £15bn cost of living handout is not enough to help struggling families and only a “drop in the ocean” compared with the pressures consumers are facing, the boss of Asda has said.

Lord Stuart Rose, the chairman of the UK’s third largest supermarket, said he welcomed the one-off payments announced by the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, on Thursday, worth a minimum of £400 for all households and up to £1,200 for the poorest, but said: “There is still going to be continuing pressure and a lot of toughness for people.”