Shoppers Face Supermarket Price Hikes, Warns Lidl Boss After Chancellor's £7 Billion Budget Blow...

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THE boss of Lidl has warned that food prices will inevitably rise after the Budget's tax raid added huge costs for retailers.

Ryan McDonnell, Lidl chief executive, said that the discount supermarket was facing "tens of millions of pounds" in extra costs after the Chancellor hiked employers' national insurance contributions.

Analysts have previously estimated Lidl faces a hit of at least £50 million, which Lidl did not dispute.

Mr McDonnell told The Sun: "We are talking about £7 billion for the whole industry. For us it will be tens of millions. With all that cost pressure there will be greater inflationary cost pressures."

Lidl was one of 80 big retailers to sign a letter to the Chancellor this week warning her that the Budget would result in job losses, store closures and inflation .

It comes as fresh figures today, Wednesday 20, show that inflation has already ticked up by more than expected to 2.3 per cent from 1.7 per cent in September.

The Lidl boss said the discount supermarket would invest to make sure it was still offering lower prices than its rivasl.