Around 70 MPs have demanded the Prime Minister use a one-off levy to help elderly and vulnerable people pay their soaring gas and electricity bills.

They include Sheffield Attercliffe MP Clive Betts, Barnsley West and Penistone MP Mick Clapham, and Barnsley Central MP Eric Illsley.

Mr Betts yesterday said there was "overwhelming" support among Labour MPs and the public for the tax.

He said: "Worldwide prices are going up, wholesale prices are going up, but the energy companies are making more money for doing absolutely nothing.

"I think it is reasonable for people to say, 'Why should the wages and salaries and bonuses of the executives of these companies go up astronomically, while the ordinary person in the street is seeing their incomes go up by two per cent and their energy bills going up by 30 per cent?'"

Mr Illsley added: "You cannot expect people to take these price increases when you see the profit margins of the energy companies.

"I accept they need a fair amount of profit to invest back into the system but at the moment there is a mismatch."

Business Secretary John Hutton has indicated the Government was "looking at" the move after Shell, BP and British Gas all announced multi-billion pound profits.

But in recent weeks ministers appeared to have moved away from the idea, and are understood to favour forcing energy companies to pay more for pollution permits issued under the European Union's carbon-trading scheme.

This would, however, raise only £500 million - much less than could be raised by a windfall tax.

Shell made £4 billion in the second quarter of this year, up 4.6 per cent from 2007, while BP raked in £3.4 billion - a rise of six per cent.

Centrica, which owns British Gas, recorded profits of £992 million in the first half of this year, while raising prices by 35 per cent.

Mr Betts added: "I think the public should expect a bit of benefit from them as well."

But David Porter, chief executive of the Association of Electricity Producers, warned a windfall tax could drive investors away from the UK.

"A legalised raid on the company's bank accounts would be very unhelpful because it would scare off investors and also could make the cost of investment much higher and that would end up on customers' bills," he said.

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