Sir Keir Starmer is set to chair an emergency Cobra meeting after a call with Donald Trump over the Middle East crisis.
In a conversation on Sunday night, the UK prime minister and the US president agreed reopening the Strait of Hormuz is “essential” to stabilise a global energy market that had seen oil prices rocket since Mr Trump began his joint campaign with Israel against Iran.
Sir Keir’s response to the crisis has been heavily criticised by Mr Trump, as the UK is among the countries that have resisted the president’s demand for other nations to send ships to open the strait, due to an unwillingness to be drawn into the wider war.
But amid fresh concerns that much of Europe could be within range of Iranian weapons, and facing the threat of higher inflation and further disruption to fuel supplies, Sir Keir will convene his top ministers at a Cobra meeting on Monday afternoon.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves, foreign secretary Yvette Cooper and the governor of the Bank of England, Andrew Bailey, are among those set to attend the meeting, which is expected to focus on the economic impact of the crisis, energy security and the resilience of industry and supply chains alongside the international response.
