MILLIONS of low-paid workers are being driven into absolute poverty, trade unions warned today as inflation soared to a 40-year high.

The unions joined charities, think tanks and MPs to ramp up the pressure on the government to deliver an emergency Budget aiding the poorest households, who are struggling under the weight of prices that are increasing faster than at any point in more than a generation.

Office for National Statistics (ONS) data revealed that consumer prices index inflation rose to 9 per cent in the year to April, up from an already high 7 per cent in March.