Meg Hillier ended the liaison committee hearing by pointing out to Starmer that it must be challenging dealing with Donald Trump, who could be “quite rude” about the UK one day, and different the next day.It must be like dealing with different presidents, she said.She asked him if he had a message for the country about how he coped with this.Starmer replies:double quotation markYes, I’m utterly focused on what’s what’s in the best interests of our country, and I’m unapologetic about that.And notwithstanding the pressure that comes from elsewhere, I will remain laser-focused on what is in the British national interest.

And a lot of what is said or done is undoubtedly said or done to put pressure on me.I have no doubt about that.I understand exactly what is going on, but I’m not going to be wavering on this.I’m the British prime minister and my job is to be absolutely focused on what’s in the British national interest.That has served me well, in recent weeks.

And that is the principle that I’ll continue to adhere to as we go forward, taking difficult decisions, notwithstanding the pressure that comes from me from a number of different places.Keir Starmer is chairing a meeting of the government’s Cobra emergency committee to consider how the government deals with the economic consequences of the Iran war.Giving evidence to the Commons liaison committee earlier, he said that he had told his team that they should plan “on the basis that it could go on for some time” (see 2.42pm) and he hinted that any programme to help people with energy bills would be targeted at those most in need (see 3.35pm).

Starmer has delivered a veiled rebuke to Donald Trump over the president’s repeated insults about him recently, suggesting to the liaison committee that these comments have been made “to put pressure on me” and that he has been refusing to respond directly because he is “unapologetic” about remaining “utterly focused” on his job.(See 4.47pm.) Starmer did not refer to Trump by name, but this is about the closest he has come to a considered response to Trump’s numerous provocations, which have included the president yesterday posting on his Truth Social platform a TV sketch mocking Starmer as afraid of him.(See 9.

31am.)Families whose relatives were killed in disasters and who have suffered state injustice have written to Keir Starmer, accusing the government of an “insult” for failing to introduce the promised Hillsborough law in this session of parliament.For a full list of all the stories covered on the blog today, do scroll through the list of key event headlines near the top of the blog.Robert Buckland, the former Tory justice secretary, has been appointed to lead an independent review “to explore any missed opportunities that could have prevented the murder of Sir David Amess”, the Home Office has announced.The Home Office said:double quotation markWhile this will be subject to agreement, it is expected that the terms of reference will seek to address any unanswered questions the Amess family have regarding the murder of Sir David Amess.

The reviewer will engage relevant experts and draw upon extant material from the trial of Sir David’s murderer and from reviews which have previously taken place, including the initial Prevent learning review and the Independent Prevent Commissioner’s review published in July 2025.More details on the terms of reference will be published once established.Figures from the RAC show the average price of unleaded fuel has risen more than 14p a litre to 147.19p since the end of February, adding £8 to the cost of filling up a family car which currently stands at £81, the Press Association reports.PA says:double quotation markPetrol prices were last this high in early June 2024, the RAC added.

For drivers of diesel vehicles, the situation is “far worse” with a litre up 29p to 171.17p, its highest price since mid-January 2023.This means a tank now costs £94, £16 more than it did at the start of the Middle East conflict.RAC head of policy Simon Williams said: “Given how many rely on their cars, households are really feeling the effects of the conflict in the Middle East.“As a barrel of oil has been trading well over 100 dollars for the last three days and looks set to remain at that level, drivers are in for a rough ride at the pumps in the run-up to the Easter break with no end to price increases in sight.

“With the price of petrol likely to go above 150p a litre in the next week and diesel heading to 180p, it’s looking like it will be the most expensive Easter on the roads since the early days of the war in Ukraine in 2022.”Iran’s ambassador to the UK has been summoned by the Foreign Office over his country’s “reckless and destabilising actions” in Britain and overseas, the Press Association reports.PA says:double quotation markSeyed Ali Mousavi was called into the Foreign Office after an Iranian and a British-Iranian dual national were accused of carrying out hostile surveillance on London’s Jewish community.The Foreign Office said the UK takes the threat posed by Iran and its proxies “extremely seriously”.The diplomat was summoned on the instruction of Yvette Cooper, the foreign secretary, and was met by Middle East minister Hamish Falconer.

A Foreign Office spokesperson said: “The summons follows the recent charging of two individuals, one Iranian national and one British-Iranian dual national, under the National Security Act, on suspicion of providing assistance to a foreign intelligence service.“National security remains our top priority, and we take threats posed by Iran and those who do its bidding extremely seriously.“This government will take all measures necessary to protect the British people, including exposing Iran’s reckless and destabilising actions at home and abroad.”In the Commons, responding to John Healey (see 4.24pm), James Cartlidge, the shadow defence secretary, accused the government of “extraordinary double standards”, claiming the UK had been “relying on the US to defend us whilst denying them the use of our bases”.

Meg Hillier ended the liaison committee hearing by pointing out to Starmer that it must be challenging dealing with Donald Trump, who could be “quite rude” about the UK one day, and different the next day,It must be like dealing with different presidents, she said,She asked him if he had a message for the country about how he coped with this,Starmer replies:double quotation markYes, I’m utterly focused on what’s what’s in the best interests of our country, and I’m unapologetic about that,And notwithstanding the pressure that comes from elsewhere, I will remain laser-focused on what is in the British national interest.

And a lot of what is said or done is undoubtedly said or done to put pressure on me,I have no doubt about that,I understand exactly what is going on, but I’m not going to be wavering on this,I’m the British prime minister and my job is to be absolutely focused on what’s in the British national interest,That has served me well, in recent weeks.

And that is the principle that I’ll continue to adhere to as we go forward, taking difficult decisions, notwithstanding the pressure that comes from me from a number of different places.Keir Starmer has said the UK will allow the US to use its bases to attack Iran if it is doing so to attack missile sites being used by the Iranians to attack Britain’s allies in the region.At the weekend the government extended this to authorise US use of UK bases to attack missile sites attacking shipping in the strait of Hormuz.Meg Hillier asked Starmer to explain which states under international law were being defended under these operations.Starmer said it was “predominantly our allies in the region”.

When Hillier asked Starmer to name some of those countries, Starmer said it was “all of those in the region”.Defending the decision to extend the approval mandate at the weekend, Starmer said it was not logical to allow operations against Iranian missile strikes that were hitting hotels, but not if they were hitting ships nearby.Liam Byrne suggests the UK should introduce “a really hard ban” on imports from illegal settlements.Will you consider that?Starmer says he would keep this matter under review.At the liaison committeer Andy Slaughter told Keir Starmer that, although the government had promised concrete action to stop the extension of illegal settlements on the West Bank, nothing seemed to happen.

Starmer did not accept that.He said there had been action.When Slaughter challenged that, Starmer said this matter was “under consideration”.