Keir Starmer to chair Cobra as costs to households from Iran war become clear

Sir Keir Starmer will chair a meeting of the Cobra crisis committee as the cost to households from the war in Iran was laid bare.

Average energy bills are forecast to rise by almost £300 from July while motorists are already counting the cost of the war, with drivers paying £544 million extra for fuel since the US-Israeli bombing campaign began.

The Prime Minister said the Cobra meeting will look at “making sure that everything that we need to have in place” to respond to the crisis is set up.

Iran’s selective blockade of the vital oil and gas shipping route the Strait of Hormuz and its attacks on the Gulf states has pushed up global energy prices.

In the latest sign of the risk to shipping in the region a Kuwaiti oil tanker was attacked off the coast of Dubai.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has already indicated that targeted help for poorer households could be available if bills continue to rise, with particular worries in Government about the impact in the autumn when energy use increases as temperatures drop.

The price most households pay for energy under regulator Ofgem’s cap will fall by £117-a-year to £1,641 from Wednesday, driven by the Government’s promise to cut bills by an average of £150 by removing green subsidies.

But respected energy analyst Cornwall Insight said its prediction for the watchdog’s price cap from July to September now stands at £1,929 for a typical dual fuel household – an increase of £288 or 18% on April’s cap.

Energy consumers minister Martin McCluskey said: “Tackling the affordability crisis is our number one priority and I know many families will be thinking about how events in the Middle East might impact the cost of living at home.

“We will continue to fight people’s corner through this crisis and, as the Energy Secretary (Ed Miliband) has said, if it’s necessary to intervene, we will.”

The costs for homes reliant on heating oil, which are not covered by the Ofgem cap, have already soared.

Department for Energy Security and Net Zero figures showed the average price per litre of standard grade burning oil stood at 104.1p in March, nearly double the average in February (53.5p) and the highest monthly figure since official data began in January 1989.

The Government has announced a £53 million package of support for heating oil customers.

Motoring research charity the RAC Foundation estimated that rises in pump prices since the conflict in the Middle East began on February 28 have led to motorists paying an additional £409 million for diesel and £135 million for petrol.

Sir Keir has previously promised to keep a planned rise in fuel duty from September “under review in light of what’s happening in Iran” and the Government has stepped up efforts to help drivers find the cheapest fuel in their area through a price comparison app.

Tory leader Kemi Badenoch criticised the Government for being “caught off guard” by the energy shock.

Speaking to the Press Association on a visit to Hertfordshire, she said the Tories would cut VAT off energy bills for three years and scrap “unnecessary” green levies.

“It’ll be a lot better for them to get the money by drilling oil and gas in the North Sea and using those revenues to cover the cost,” she said.

“And of course, the Government needs to stop the planned rise in fuel duty in September. With everything that’s going on, the last thing the Government needs is to increase the cost of living for hard working families.”

Military action continued in the Middle East, with US and Israeli strikes against targets in Iran and Iranian drone and missile strikes against Gulf states and Israel.

The Royal Navy’s UK Maritime Trade Operations Centre, which provides security information to shipping, reported an attack on a tanker which caused a fire 31 nautical miles off Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.

Local media reports said the fully-laden Kuwaiti vessel was hit by a drone.

The UK continued diplomatic efforts to support allies in the region and call for de-escalation, even as US President Donald Trump threatened to obliterate Iran’s energy infrastructure and oil wells unless shipping routes are reopened.

The Prime Minister welcomed Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa to Downing Street while Defence Secretary John Healey is in the Middle East to speak to the UK’s allies in the Gulf.

Mr Trump has insisted that “great progress” has been made in talks with Iran, although there has been little public detail about any negotiation process.

But he has warned that unless the Strait of Hormuz is opened to shipping the US will respond by “completely obliterating” Iran’s power plants and oil wells.

He also raised the prospect of attacking desalination plants which provide drinking water to Iranian citizens.