Record Shell profits could pay every Wigan employee seven times over

The oil company logged a record $39.9 billion (£32.2 billion) in post-tax profit last year, topping the previous record of $31 billion in 2008.

With people facing soaring energy bills and many struggling to fuel their homes, Friends of the Earth labelled the rise "staggering", while opposition parties urged the Government to implement a windfall tax.

Office for National Statistics figures show the average employee in Wigan earned an annual salary of £29,256 in 2022.

Based on this, Shell could potentially pay the area's 147,862 payrolled employees seven times over based with its profits last year.

Shadow climate change secretary Ed Miliband said: "As the British people face an energy price hike of 40 per cent in April, the Government is letting the fossil fuel companies making bumper profits off the hook with their refusal to implement a proper windfall tax."

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said: "No company should be making these kinds of outrageous profits out of [Vladimir] Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine.

"Rishi Sunak was warned as Chancellor and now as Prime Minister that we need a proper windfall tax on companies like Shell and he has failed to take action."

Shell announced it will pay a further $4 billion (£3.2 billion) to shareholders through a new share buyback programme and will increase dividend payments by 15 per cent.

Dr George Dibb, head of the Centre for Economic Justice at the Institute for Public Policy Research, said the transfer of wealth from bill-payers to shareholders is "inexcusable".

Dr Dibb said: "Instead of re-investing those profits in the transition to net zero, they’re spending billions on enriching their own shareholders and executives.

"The UK should follow the example set by the USA and Canada and fairly tax these share buybacks to raise hundreds of millions for the exchequer."

Sana Yusuf, climate campaigner at Friends of the Earth, said: "People can see the injustice of paying eye-watering energy costs while big oil and gas firms rake in billions.

"Fairly taxing their excess profits could help to fund a nationwide programme of insulation and a renewable energy drive, which would lower bills, keep homes warmer and reduce harmful carbon emissions."