Starmer considers options over Iran cost-of-living concerns

Sir Keir Starmer has said he is looking at "every lever that's available to government" to deal with cost of living pressures caused by the Iran war.

The prime minister is chairing an emergency Cobra committee, which will be attended by Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey and senior ministers.

Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook said a "range of options" are being assessed, telling the BBC this would include on the issue of "profiteering that we're potentially seeing from fuel retailers".

The meeting will take place after US President Donald Trump said military strikes against Iranian energy infrastructure would be postponed for five days following "productive" talks with Iran.

Trump's post on his TruthSocial platform said discussions had been taking place for two days regarding the "complete and total resolution of our hostilities in the Middle East" and these will "continue throughout the week".

Oil prices eased back and London's FTSE 100 share index reversed early session falls following his comments.

A Downing Street spokesperson said: "Any reports of productive talks are welcome", adding: "We have always said a swift resolution to the war is in the global interest and the Strait of Hormuz specifically needs to be re-opened."

On Sunday, Sir Keir and Trump discussed the need to reopen the strait, a vital oil shipping channel.

Iran has effectively blocked the Strait of Hormuz since the US and Israel attacked the country on 28 February.

In a social media post on Saturday, Trump threatened to "obliterate" Iranian power plants if the strait was not opened within 48 hours.

Tehran said it would target US-linked energy sites across the Gulf region if the US followed through with its threat, according to Iranian state media.

On Monday, Trump gave a TruthSocial update on the "in depth, detailed, and constructive conversations" between the US and Iran.

He added he has "instructed the department of war to postpone any and all military strikes against Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure for a five day period, subject to the success of the ongoing meetings and discussions".

Topics expected to be covered at the Cobra meeting, which will also be attended by the chancellor, foreign secretary and energy secretary, include energy security and the economic impact of the crisis on families.

Ministers will also discuss the impact on business and supply chains, alongside the international response.

Sir Keir told broadcasters: "I am asking for every lever that's available to the government to deal with the cost of living to be discussed at Cobra, hence we've got the Bank of England and others there."

The prime minister added he wants to ensure the government is doing "everything we possibly can at a very difficult period like this".

The prime minister faced questions from senior MPs about the government's response to the conflict when he appeared in front of the liaison committee in the House of Commons, ahead of the Cobra meeting.

He told the committee he would "look at what further teeth we can give the [Competition and Markets Authority] to deal with this".

He told MPs: "We are looking at measures to deal with profiteering, I've already asked the CMA to look at this…

"On price gouging or profiteering, we absolutely need to bear down on it, so we are actively considering whether the CMA should have additional powers to deal specifically with that.

"But at the moment, we are making sure they are focused on anti-profiteering steps they can take now."

Cobra meetings, also known as Cobr, are named after Cabinet Office Briefing Room A in Whitehall.

The room is where senior ministers and officials gather in central London, to coordinate the emergency response to a crisis.

The government has already outlined a £53m package for homes struggling with a sharp increase in the price of heating oil.

Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch said Sir Keir should use the Cobra meeting to tell Energy Secretary Ed Miliband to "adopt our cheap power plan", adding: "Drill the North Sea, cut carbon taxes, and axe the fuel duty hike."

Green Party leader Zack Polanski said this is "no time for half-measures" as he suggested families should be protected from energy price hikes.

Writing on X, his suggestions to pay for such an approach included "a tighter oil and gas windfall tax, taxing income from wealth the same as from work, and double down on renewables and energy efficiency to protect us from future shocks".

Sir Keir also reiterated there is "no assessment" that the UK is being targeted by Iran.

It came after the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on Saturday that Tehran had weapons that could reach up to 4,000km (2,485 miles).

It had also previously emerged that Iran targeted the joint US-UK military base on the Chagos Islands in the Indian Ocean, around 3,800km from Iran.

Sir Keir said: "No missiles hit the Chagos Islands.

"There were two heading in that direction and it's really important that we call out these reckless acts by Iran against British interests, British lives, against our allies in the Gulf and the region."

On Friday, the government agreed to allow the US to use British bases to launch strikes on Iranian sites targeting the Strait of Hormuz.

It had previously allowed US forces to use the bases only for defensive operations to prevent Iran firing missiles that put British interests or lives at risk.