Tesco chairman John Allan has called for the government to introduce a windfall tax on energy companies to help what he said was the worst food poverty crisis facing the UK in a generation.
Allan told the BBC Today programme Tesco customers were among those whose behaviour was showing the extent of the financial hardship families were experiencing.
He said there was an “overwhelming case” for a windfall tax on energy companies, to help those such as Tesco customers who have started rationing the amount of food they buy at the supermarket.
Allan, who said he was speaking in a personal capacity, said the country was facing “real food poverty for the first time in a generation”, and that people were finding it even harder to mitigate soaring energy costs.
“There’s an overwhelming case for a windfall tax on profits for those energy producers, fed back to those most in need of help with energy prices,” Allan told the programme.
“I was hearing for the first time in many years customers saying to checkout staff: ‘stop when you get to £40’, or something,” he said. “They don’t want to spend a penny over that, as opposed to having everything checked out.”
Although Allan said he was speaking in a personal capacity, his comments come a week after Asda chairman and Conservative peer Lord Stuart Rose demanded the government did more to help families facing the impact of inflation.
John Lewis Partnership chairwoman Sharon White also said during an ITV appearance on May 11 that “the time absolutely has come for action whether it’s an emergency budget or whether it’s another vehicle.”
When asked if she supported a windfall tax on energy companies, she added it was “the right territory”.
”A windfall tax is not perfect but given the severity and the urgency of the situation I think it’s a reasonable approach,” White said.
On Monday, a report by the Food Foundation warned soaring food prices were causing a “catastrophic” rise in the number of families cutting back on their shopping budgets or skipping meals altogether.
It showed a 57% jump in families who said they had gone without food or could not physically get it, compared to three months ago.
Tesco declined to comment.
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