UK touts help for energy bills; seeks to forget 'partygate'

Britain's Conservative government has unveiled a $19 billion package to ease a severe cost-of-living squeeze. Treasury chief Rishi Sunak said Thursday that the government would introduce a temporary windfall tax on the profits of oil and gas firms.

The tax is expected to raise around 5 billion pounds ($6.3 billion) over the next year and fund cash payments to help millions of people cope with sharply rising energy bills.

Sunak says about 8 million of the country's lowest-income households will receive a one-time government payment of 650 pounds ($818). The announcement came a day after Prime Minister Boris Johnson vowed to ``move on'' from the `partygate' scandal over social events held in government buildings that broke COVID-19 lockdown rules.