KEIR Starmer has called on a windfall tax on energy firms after oil giant BP's profits doubled in the last year.

The Labour leader said a one-off tax was the "right approach" to help with the cost of living crisis. 

This morning BP confirmed its profits more than doubled to 6.2 billion US dollars (£5 billion), up from 2.6 billion US dollars (£2.1 billion) a year ago.

Sir Keir told BBC Breakfast: “I think those figures reinforce the case that we’ve been making, which is that, with so many people struggling to pay their energy bills, we should have a windfall tax on oil and gas companies in the North Sea who have made more profit than they were expecting.

“Have a windfall tax on that and use that to help people with their energy bills, up to £600 for those who need it most.”

He said his party would tailor help “to those who would need it most”, and also branded the Chancellor's rise in National Insurance "the wrong tax at the wrong time”.

He argued: “Overall, the cost of this Government is that families will be £2,000 worse off and the Government’s got no answer to that for so many families.

“The national insurance rise is going to hit working people in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis. There’s a reason why the other G7 countries are not increasing tax in the middle of a cost -of-living crisis and that’s because they know it’s self-defeating.”

He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “The Achilles’ heel of the economy over the last 12 years has been low growth, it’s been appalling growth under this Government for 12 years.”

He went on: “It is staggering to learn that during the pandemic £11.8 billion was lost either to fraud or bad contracts, and the Government isn’t clawing it back … Stocks and shares and dividends, we would look across the piece at a fair tax system to raise the necessary money.”

The Labour leader also said he took responsibility for the "genuine mistake" made when journalists were told his deputy, Angela Rayner, had not been in attendance at a campaign event last year.

The event has drawn criticism after Sir Keir was pictured holding a beer, while gatherings indoors were banned unless with people from your household. 

Labour officials initially said Ms Rayner had not been there, however later corrected this and confirmed she had been. 

He said: "It was a mistake that was made. I think we were asked months ago whether she was there and we wrongly said she wasn’t.

“It was a genuine mistake in the office. I’ll take responsibility for that, it’s my office, we’re a busy office, we made a mistake.

“We were asked again, I think either this week or last week. If I’d have been asked I would have said she was there because I knew she was there. But it was a genuine mistake in a busy office. I think everybody understands that happens in busy offices.”

Asked if some workers in Downing Street might say the same thing, Sir Keir responded: “Well, that’s up to them and that’s fine. I mean, they know what happened in their own offices.”

He later added that accidentally stating Ms Rayner was not present was “miles apart” from 50 fines being issued in relation to the Downing Street parties. “I don’t think there’s any equivalence here,” he added.