SHELL got $121 million (£90m) tax rebates from the UK Government last year when the group recorded a huge increase in profits following the surge in oil and gas prices.

The report on payments made to governments by Shell in 2021 shows the company received refunds worth $131m which far outweighed the $10m it paid in taxes.

The refunds reflect the benefit of the reliefs available to oil and gas firms in respect of the decommissioning of North Sea assets and the development of new facilities.

Shell increased annual profits to $19.3 billion last year from $4.8bn in 2020.