Shameless store owner selling 24 loo rolls for £18 as Boris pledges crackdown on profiteers

A LONDON shop has been found selling toilet roll for £18 as Boris Johnson vows to crack down on profiteers benefiting from the coronavirus chaos.

It comes as the PM and Jeremy Corbyn faced off in their final PMQs session before the Labour boss quits and Parliament shuts for a month.

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Ally Farrell posted his disbelief at the local shop selling toilet toll for £18Credit: Twitter

A creative lead for News UK, Ally Farrell, tweeted: “My local corner shop in Woolwich are selling 24-packs of toilet roll for £18. EIGHTEEN POUNDS.”

He told the Sun Online he had searched in multiple shops to find some, and said: “Finally we struck gold in the corner shop next door.

“A 24-pack sat at the back of the shop, their last remaining toilet roll. We couldn’t believe our luck – until the shopkeeper asked for £18.

“With no other options and one roll remaining in the house, we didn’t have a choice but to pay. Fortunately we could afford to take the hit, but we have many neighbours who have lost their jobs and income.

“Local shops and newsagents are fortunate to be in a position where they can still trade and should be looking after their customers, not ripping them off. They’ve now lost a customer and will likely lose several more soon.”

His shocked followers commented on the huge mark up put on by the shop owners.

One said: “100% increase on that. Same one cost me £9 in Morrisons last week”

And another wrote: “That’s outrageous and shouldn’t be allowed.”

BORIS’ PROMISES

Boris insisted today that more must be done to stop companies from doubling or tripling their prices.

Tory MP Alexander Stafford called on him to help halt the “disgusting” behaviour from some stores.

And Boris replied: “I think that profiteering is something we should be looking at from a legislative point of view in this house, as has happened before in this country.”

He told a press conference this afternoon: “Profiteering… I dislike it very much, I do not want to see people exploiting people’s need at a critical time, at a national emergency.
“We are looking very carefully at what is going on.
“We are looking ata legislative framework to see what it may be necessary to do to prevent profiteering, just as happened within wartime many years ago.”

Downing Street said earlier: “The PM is clear that we don’t want to see profiteering of any kind.

“Traders must stop any price increases. The Competition and Markets Authority has created a specific COVID19 taskforce to address and remedy concerns tat some businesses are exploiting consumers through harmful sales and pricing practices.

“We urge anybody who had any concerns to report those of the CMA.

“The CMA can use a range of consumer powers to tackle bad behaviour including significant fines.
We will also look at further action if necessary.”

He also vowed that a huge bumper package was on the way for the self-employed “in the next few days” and more testing for NHS staff.

Boris paid tribute to Jeremy Corbyn as he steps down as Labour boss

Boris promised: “We are putting our arms around every single worker.”

And he again stressed that the best thing everyone can do to help with the coronavirus crisis was to “stay at home”.

In a bold rally cry to a worried nation, he said: “We will get this country through this crisis with this exceptional steps.

“We will do whatever it takes to get our country through it together. We will beat it together.”

A package of measures to help Britain’s army of five million self-employed is being worked on frantically by ministers, but the system is more complex than regular workers so has taken longer than expected.

Boris paid tribute to the ongoing Labour boss, who will be replaced at the start of April.

“We may not agree about everything but no one can doubt his sincerity and determination to build a better society,” the PM said.

But Mr Corbyn assured him he wasn’t going anywhere.