MORE than 40 per cent of adults in Britain expect their financial situation to worsen this year — and energy bills will be the cause.

The StepChange Debt Charity, which helps people manage their debts, said that of the 41 per cent who expected to be worse off, 59 per cent blamed higher energy bills.

Since the energy crisis began in 2021, 20 energy companies in Britain made a staggering £457 billion in profits by August last year, according to the End Fuel Poverty Coalition.