Chancellor urged to close 'dangerous gap' in winter energy support as Britain faces some of Europe's highest costs

Pressure is mounting on the Chancellor to extend energy bill assistance after National Gas struck an 11th-hour deal with the owner of a major Belgian pipeline to stop a planned capacity cut. Without it, gas could have run short if part of the network failed in a freeze. Ofgem approved the deal, which will add around 10p a month to the average gas bill. National Gas forecasts that domestic production will fall around 5% and that LNG imports will rise about 5%.

Citizens Advice warns typical annual energy bills will climb above £2,000 in January.

Seaborne gas now costs three times its pre-Middle East crisis price.

Tory Andrew Bowie: Ofgem 'cannot guarantee that homes will be warm' on a peak day.