UK government must help poor now, says senior Conservative lawmaker

FILE PHOTO: Britain's Conservative MP Iain Duncan Smith holds European Union Withgrawal Agreement Bill as he leaves Downing Street in London, Britain October 22, 2019. REUTERS/Simon Dawson

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's Conservative government needs to take measures now to help those most effected by a worsening cost-of-living crunch, former party leader and senior lawmaker Iain Duncan Smith said on Saturday.

British inflation surged last month to its highest annual rate since 1982, with consumer price inflation hitting 9% in April, putting finance minister Rishi Sunak under pressure to do more to help those struggling to pay rising food, fuel and energy bills.