BP profits 'grotesque,' lawmaker says

A lawmaker who challenged Prime Minister Gordon Brown for the leadership of Britain's ruling Labour Party criticized a surge in BP Plc profit as ``grotesquely obscene profiteering'' against energy consumers.

John McDonnell, a member of the House of Commons who holds no position in the government, reiterated calls for the oil company to face one-time tax on profits to fund help for people struggling to pay home heating bills.

``At a time when many people are struggling to cope with high fuel costs just to keep warm this winter, this is grotesquely obscene profiteering by BP,'' McDonnell said in an e-mail today. ``The government must now act to control prices and introduce a windfall tax on these profits.''

Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling has ruled out such a levy, and Brown's office said BP profits add revenue to the U.K. Treasury through corporate taxation. The company said its third-quarter profit rose 83 percent from a year ago to $8.05 billion as oil prices hit a record above $145 a barrel.

``We recognize that their profits aren't generated in the U.K. alone and their revenues contribute to the U.K. through taxation and investment in North Sea production, which is important for future energy security,'' a spokesman for Brown said. ``Oil companies should recognize that these are worrying and difficult times for many people and we want the benefit of the oil price drop to feed through to people paying the bills.''

At least 50 lawmakers from Brown's Labour Party have lobbied the Treasury to impose a windfall tax on energy companies including Royal Dutch Shell Plc and utilities Electrictie de France and Centrica Plc, which have raised gas and electric bills in recent months.

McDonnell never mustered enough support within the Labour Party to mount a formal challenge to Brown, who became prime minister in June 2007.

``This scale of profiteering at a time of recession means that the time has come for the government to consider public ownership and control of irresponsible energy companies,'' McDonnell said.