Britain faces some of Europe's highest energy costs this winter because it must outbid neighbours to secure imports

National Gas secured an eleventh-hour agreement with a Belgian pipeline operator to maintain gas supplies, a deal that adds roughly 10p a month to bills. Had no arrangement been reached, supplies could have been exhausted had a network failure coincided with a cold snap. North Sea domestic production is expected to drop by around 5%, while seaborne LNG imports are set to climb by 5%. Typical annual bills are forecast to exceed £2,000 from January.

LNG prices are three times pre-crisis levels after the Iran war disrupted Gulf supplies.

EU gas stores were just 72 per cent full on 30 September.

Citizens Advice chief Dame Clare Moriarty demands an extra crisis payment in the Budget.