PM pledges cost of living help after resisting Trump’s call for warships

Sir Keir Starmer will pledge to help households with the cost of living amid the energy price spike caused by the war in the Middle East, after he appeared to resist Donald Trump’s calls to send warships to the region.

The Prime Minister will on Monday say that helping households with living costs is “my first priority” as he announces a subsidy for those who use heating oil to warm their homes, after they faced price spikes caused by the war.

Sir Keir on Sunday did not heed calls from Mr Trump to deploy warships to secure the Strait of Hormuz, a key oil trade route in the Middle East being blockaded by Iran.

Instead, Britain is currently mulling over the possibility of sending mine-hunting drones to the region amid worries of an Iranian build-up of explosives in the narrow sea passage.

The Prime Minister’s heating oil announcement on Monday comes after Chancellor Rachel Reeves said Treasury officials have “found the money” to help the 1.5 million households relying on the fuel.

Heating oil is not protected by the energy price cap and its price per litre has doubled as a result of the stranglehold on oil leaving the Middle East since the US-Israeli war with Iran began.

Inside Downing Street, Sir Keir will say: “It’s moments like this that tell you what a Government is about.

“My answer is clear. Whatever challenges lie ahead, this Government will always support working people.

“That is my first instinct – my first priority – to help you with the cost of living through this crisis.”

The Prime Minister will also raise concerns about claims that suppliers of heating oil have cancelled orders and then jacked up prices.

Last week, Ms Reeves and Energy Secretary Ed Miliband met oil firm bosses and forecourt operators to warn them against profiteering.

In his press conference, Sir Keir will say: “I will not tolerate companies trying to exploit this crisis to make money from working people… if the companies have broken the law, there will be legal action.”

De-escalation of the war is the quickest way to reduce cost-of-living pressures for the British public, the Prime Minister will insist.

Sir Keir on Sunday spoke to Mr Trump for the first time since the US president called for help from other nations to secure the Strait of Hormuz.

The pair “discussed the ongoing situation in the Middle East and the importance of reopening the Strait of Hormuz to end the disruption to global shipping, which is driving up costs worldwide”, a Downing Street spokeswoman said.

But there was no response from the Prime Minister to the President’s call for the UK and other nations impacted by the blockade to send warships to the region to protect the Strait of Hormuz.

Britain is “intensively” looking at what it can do to help reopen the route, Mr Miliband said on Sunday.

The military could send mine-hunting drones to the region, defence sources have said, as the Government seeks to stave off criticism from Mr Trump for ignoring his call for warships.

Elsewhere, Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper has mobilised more than £5 million in aid for humanitarian organisations in Lebanon amid a war between Israel and the militant group Hezbollah.

She said she was “gravely concerned about the developing conflict in Lebanon and the scale of the humanitarian impact”.