LONDON (Reuters) – Almost half of British people have cut back on food purchases as prices surge, while others are having to spend more on their shopping, according to official figures on Friday which show the scale of the current cost-of-living squeeze. British consumer price inflation hit a 40-year high of 9.1% in May – with food and drink prices up 8.6% – and the Bank of England expects the annual CPI rate to exceed 11% in October when a 40% rise in regulated energy tariffs will hit. Friday’s figures from the Office for National Statistics showed that 49% of people said they had bought less…