Calls for bigger windfall tax after Shell makes ‘obscene’ $40bn profit

Sunak government under pressure after gas prices fuel outrageous' doubling of profits at Anglo-Dutch group

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The government is under pressure to rethink its windfall tax on energy companies after Shell reported one of the largest profits in UK corporate history, with the surge in energy prices sparked by Russia's invasion of Ukraine pushing the oil company's annual takings to $40bn (32bn).

Opposition parties and trade unions described Shell's bonanza, the biggest in its 115 year history, as outrageous" and accused Rishi Sunak of letting fossil fuel companies off the hook".