Hoodwinked British Gas customers are awaiting £1 million in compensation after the firm admitted yesterday to luring in Sainsbury’s shoppers with misleading figures.

Industry regulator Ofgem said the Big Six energy retailer, which posted pre-tax profits of £571m last year, employed dodgy price comparisons in a nationwide supermarket promotion between February 2011 and March 2013.

The watchdog’s report said the campaign’s sales staff and branding did not make it clear that British Gas was the supply partner for Sainsbury’s Energy.