Former BP chief calls for UK energy price cap freeze ahead of ‘winter of discontent’

Nick Butler says firms who cannot offer lower prices should be renationalised

Annual energy bills are set to rise from £1,971 to £3,582 from October. (Getty/iStock)

A former BP executive has called on the government to freeze the UK’s energy cap price, saying it cannot allow millions of people to be pushed into fuel poverty.

Nick Butler, a former adviser to Gordon Brown who worked for the energy giant for three decades, said annual costs should not be allowed to rise from £1,971 to almost £3,600 from October.

Unless ministers step in to block the expected increase, the average UK household could then be hit by another steep rise, having to pay a devastating £4,266 for energy next year.