OIL giant BP raked in a profit of $13.8 billion (£11bn) last year as the company continued to prosper on the back of struggling households.

The company revealed that its underlying replacement-cost profits had halved in 2023, but it still performed better than expected.

Warm This Winter spokeswoman Fiona Waters said that while the figures were less than the record numbers reported in 2022, BP was “still making billions while people’s energy bills continue at unaffordable levels and more and more people are being pushed into poverty.

“Meanwhile, this government continues to hand massive subsidies to these international profiteers,” she added.

“We need real energy solutions, notably renewable energy and proper insulation, to stop this ongoing cycle of obscene profits and to keep ordinary people warm this winter.”

Think tank the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) also criticised the company’s “excessive payouts,” with researcher Joseph Evans saying: “BP has decided to prioritise its shareholders over investing in the green transition.”

Scottish Greens climate spokesman Mark Ruskell warned that fossil fuel giants like BP are “destroying our planet in the name of profit,” warning that the Tory government’s “failure to impose a meaningful windfall tax means more radical action is needed.”