Supermarket giant Iceland has slammed Rachel Reeves, blaming the Chancellor for pushing up food prices. Iceland is expecting UK food price inflation to peak at between 4% and 5% in the next six months, the company reportedly said in accounts published last week and signed off in July.

The supermarket chain said it “will inevitably have to pass [some cost increases] on to consumers” with food makers being hit by an increase in National Insurance contributions and the National Living Wage. Its warning echoes findings from the Bank of England last week. Iceland said it is doing all it can to keep food prices down.

“We are doing our utmost to offset the growing input cost pressures caused by suppliers seeking to recover the increase in their own labour costs arising from last autumn’s Budget, but will inevitably have to pass some of these on to consumers, where we can do so without weakening our own price position in the marketplace,” the supermarket said, according to The Telegraph.

It follows warnings of the rising cost of the weekly food shop.

A report by the Bank of England on Thursday said higher labour costs are contributing to food price inflation, partly because of increases in minimum wages and the impact of the increase in National Insurance contributions.

It said a “relatively high proportion of staff” in food manufacturing and retail are paid at or close to the National Living Wage, which increased by 6.7% in April.

Food prices in shops are forecast to be 5% higher in the autumn than they were a year ago.

Iceland’s Labour-supporting chairman Richard Walker said in December supermarket rivals should stop “wallowing” and “complaining” about the Chancellor’s tax increases.

The former Tory donor told The Telegraph: “This isn’t a time for businesses to wallow… The Government isn’t going to change its mind. It was a tough Budget, but we adapt.”

Mr Walker previously hit out at the Chancellor’s family farm inheritance tax plans, saying: "The Treasury is right to look at levelling the playing field on tax, but it has parked its tractor in the wrong place going after hard-working British farmers.

"Let’s stop messing around and make online sales tax reform the priority."

While food prices are expected to rise, the Bank of England has reduced interest rates and increased its economic growth forecast for this year.