UK will ‘of course’ offer more cost-of-living help, Johnson says

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Wednesday his government would “of course” provide more support for people struggling to cope with surging inflation.

Johnson, asked by a reporter about the cost of providing military assistance to Ukraine at a time when people in Britain were unable to heat their homes, said his government was giving support to meet the increased cost of living.

“Of course there’ll be more support in the months ahead as things continue to be tough with the increase in the energy prices,” he said during a visit to Finland.

“We’ve just got to make sure that we help people through the aftershocks (of the Covid-19 pandemic) and we certainly, certainly will.”

The Bank of England last week forecast that inflation in Britain will peak at more than 10% and warned the economy is at risk of recession, adding to pressure on Johnson and his government to expand cost-of-living support measures.

Finance minister Rishi Sunak has said he wants to wait to see how much further regulated energy prices rise at their next scheduled review in October before deciding what kind of extra support is needed.