'VERY SEVERE'
Boris Johnson hints at MORE cash for Brits amid cost of living crisis but gives ‘severe’ warning mortgages WILL rise
BORIS Johnson has hinted hard-up Brits could get more cash to help with the cost of living crisis - but issued a "severe" warning that mortgages will rise.
In an explosive interview with Susanna Reid on Good Morning Britain, the Prime Minister faced a slew of questions on hardships faced by people across the country.
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His grilling comes days after Rishi Sunak warned mortgage repayments could rise by a whopping £1,000 a year - at the same time bills for energy, petrol and food are also rising.
And Mr Johnson has now suggested more help could be on the way - admitting: "There is more that we can do."
The PM squirmed as firebrand Susanna blasted: "You're not doing enough for people."
He acknowledged the support currently available - a £150 council tax cut and the £200 rebate off energy - isn't "going to be enough immediately to help everybody's costs".
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And he warned of "very severe" inflationary risk that "could get worse", with a knock-on effect on interest rates if benefits are increased.
But a windfall tax on energy companies may make matters worse in the long run, with particular problems for homeowners, he said.
Asked why the Government hasn't imposed such a tax, he replied: "We have a short-term hit caused by the spike in energy prices across the world.
"If we respond by driving up prices and costs across the board in this country, responding by the Government stepping in and driving up inflation, that will hit everybody.
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"And that will mean that people's interest rates on their mortgages go up, the cost of borrowing goes up, and we face an even worse problem."
He gave a dire warning that financial hardship issues could worsen, adding: "The risk is, if we have an inflationary spiral of the kind that could be triggered, then you'll see interest going up, and that will hit people in their mortgages."
Susanna replied: "Inflation could hit 10 per cent."
Mr Johnson replied: "Correct.
"You're quite right to point out that there's an inflationary risk and it's very severe, it could get worse and that knocks on to interest rates, and that knocks on to the cost of borrowing for everybody."
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It comes amid news that BP's profits have soared to the highest levels in a decade.
People in "particular hardship" should be "looked after by their councils", and the Government is ploughing cash into local authorities to help, Mr Johnson added.
Last week, the Chancellor told cabinet colleagues that interest rates are expected to soar to a crippling 2.5 per cent next year.
It means homeowners without fixed rate mortgages will be shouldered with higher repayments. Homeowners have been urged to lock into cheaper mortgages now before repayments go up.
As Mr Johnson insisted this morning, Mr Sunak says the answer is not simply more Government cash as it could backfire by fuelling inflation.
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He told Mumsnet: “I want to be sure that I don’t make the problem worse.
"That’s why I can’t always do everything that people want, because it actually might make the situation worse, particularly with those on mortgages with rising interest rates.”
Elsewhere in this morning's interview, sheepish Mr Johnson insisted he was doing "everything we can" to support Brits.
But he admitted his measures would not totally shield hard-pressed families from crippling cost rises.
The PM also insisted he was "honest" as he faced his first Good Morning Britain interview in almost five years.
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Asked if he was a Partygate liar, Mr Johnson hit back: "If you're talking about the statements I made in the House of Commons, I was inadvertently -"
He then paused, before adding: "I was wrong. And I apologise for that."
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