Keir Starmer is speaking at his press conference,The war is entering its third week, he says,He says he has been clear in his objectives,double quotation markFirst, we will protect our people in the region,Second, while taking the necessary action to defend ourselves and our allies, we will not be drawn into the wider war.

And third, we will keep working towards a swift resolution that brings security and stability back to the region and stops the Iranian threat to its neighbours,Q: [From Jason Groves from the Daily Mail] The Treasury gets a VAT windfall when petrol prices go up,For every 5p it goes up, they get another 1p,Shouldn’t they give that back? And are you planning for petrol rationing?Starmer ignored the point about VAT on fuel, but said that fuel duty was frozen until September,And he did not address the point about rationing either, beyond saying the government wanted to increase the UK’s energy independence.

Q: [From Mat Gay, who runs thequidsquid account on TikTok] What are you doing to help people with the cost of living?Starmer repeated many of the points he made in his opening comment.But he also claimed that wages are going up more than they were in the first 10 years of the last government.Q: [From Christopher Hope from GB News] On a scale of 1 to 10, how do you rank your relationship with Donald Trump?Starmer said it was “a good relationship”.He had a “good discussion” with Trump yesterday, he claimed.(See 9.

56am.) He went on:double quotation markWe’re strong allies, have been for decades, but it is for me to act in what I consider to be the best interests of Britain.And I have to keep that uppermost in my mindAnd it is interesting, for want of a better word, that those that two weeks ago were urging us to go headlong into the full-blown war are beginning to have second thoughts about that, and there’s a reason for that.Starmer said it was also important for GB News viewers to realise that, in the short term, their energy bills will go down, not up, because of the energy price cap.Q: [From Andy Bell from 5 News] Are you worried that your relationship with President Trump is getting frayed, given you keep turning down his requests for help?Starmer repeated his point about how he wanted “as many partners as possible” involved in a plan to keep the strait of Hormuz open.

He said:double quotation markI discussed it with President Trump yesterday, in the way that you would expect between two allies,But no decisions have been taken yet, he said,Q: [Rigby’s second question] Last week we learned that Jonathan Powell, your national security adviser, thought the Mandelson appointment was rushed,But you told MPs due process was followed,Did you mislead parliament?Starmer replied: “No.

” He said Sir Laurie Magnus, his ethics adviser, looked at this question last week (in response to a complaint from the Tories) and concluded that the proper process was followed.Starmer repeated his earlier point about the process being flawed.(See 11.08am.)Q: [From Sky’s Beth Rigby] In 2022, after the Ukraine war started, the Tory government announced an energy bills bailout that cost about £40bn.

Can you confirm that you won’t do anything on that scale? And can you confirm that means “wealthier households are going to have to suck some of this up”?Starmer says that it is “simply not sensible” to start ruling measures for later this year when there is so much uncertainty about what will happen.It is similar to the answer he gave to Chris Mason.(See 10.57am.)But he said he was determined to clamp down on firms supplying heating oil that are ripping off customers.

He said:double quotation markI’m absolutely determined to clamp down on anybody who may think of ripping others off in a situation like this,I’ve heard too many stories of [heating oil] deliveries being cancelled in order for the price to go up,We have to clamp down on that sort of ripping off,Q: [Peston’s second question] Why did you appoint Peter Mandelson as ambassador to the US when we now learn that President Trump told you to keep Karen Pierce in place?Starmer said the Mandelson appointments was a process failure,double quotation markLook, the process wasn’t strong enough.

And that’s why, last year I moved to strengthen the process and we’ll strengthen it again.My reflection is the process wasn’t strong enough.The process was followed.But was the process strong enough? No it wasn’t.Now I recognised that back in September, when the Bloomberg emails came to light [about the full extent of Mandelson’s relationship with Jeffrey Eptstein], and it was then that I started the process of strengthening it, and we’ll continue to do so.

Starmer was referring to the vetting process for jobs like this, which has been strengthened.But he ignored the substance of the question, which is why he ignored the concerns about Mandelson that were raised during the vetting process, and why he did not just keep Pierce in post.Q: [From ITV’s Robert Peston] Are you saying no to deploying the Royal Navy to reopen the strait of Hormuz?Starmer said he discussed this with President Trump yesterday.double quotation markThere have been discussions going on in relation to a viable plan.We want to make sure that that involves as many partners as possible.

That’s been our stated objective here, particularly talking to European partners, inevitably talking to Gulf Partners and to the US, because we need a credible, viable plan if we can.But he said this was “not easy”.double quotation markIt is difficult.Of course it’s difficult.There’s no hiding that.

But that’s what we’re working on in terms of a viable plan,Starmer is now taking question,Q: [From the BBC’s Chris Mason] Is there a limit to what you can do to help people with bills? And what will you do to help reopen the strait of Hormuz?Starmer said the two points were related,On financial help, he said:double quotation markI’m not going to stand here and pretend to you that we all know what the situation will be in the three or six months’ time,We don’t.

The best way through this is to de-escalate, and reduce the conflict, because that is the simple, most effective way to deal with the cost of living,And that’s where we’re putting our all of our focus,But look, you heard what I said about my instinct,And obviously, we’ll always do whatever we can in relation to cost of living for working people,And, on action in the Gulf, he said:double quotation markWe’ve already got autonomous mine hunting systems in the region.

We’re looking at options and expertise, but working with allies.Starmer said his fourth measure was the ongoing drive to make the UK energy indepenent by developing more renewable energy.And his fifth measure was working diplomatically for an end to the conflict.He ended his opening statement with the pre-briefed remarks criticising other parties for their response to the war.(See 10.

19am.)Starmer is on to his third point, and he confirms the government will support people in rural areas affected by the steep rise in the cost of heating oil.double quotation markThe CMA [Competition and Markets Authority] reported last week what every heating oil customer already knows.There are accounts of suppliers cancelling orders and jacking up prices.Now that kind of conduct is completely unacceptable.

So if the companies have broken the law there will be legal action,Because it’s clear this market is under regulated, we’re going to put that right to ensure customers get a better deal,But we won’t just wait for that,I’m announcing immediate support for vulnerable heating oil customers today, providing £53m for those households that are most exposed,Starmer says the second measure is the extension of the cut in fuel duty until September.

And he says he has been clear to energy companies that they should not profit from price rises caused by the war.Starmer says he wants to set out five steps the government is taking to help people with the cost of living, in response to the war.double quotation markFirst, we have capped energy bills until the end of June, saving the average household £117.And that’s in addition to the warm homes discount of £150 for the most vulnerable in society.No matter what happens now in energy markets, in three weeks time your energy bills will be cut and then capped for the next three months.

And he says the government is “giving a legal direction to the energy companies to ensure that every penny of the savings that we delivered through last year’s budget is passed directly onto customers to keep bills as low as possible”.Starmer says 92,000 Britons in the region have returned to the UK on commercial and government chartered flights.And he says the armed forces are working “24/7 to protect British lives and British interests and support our Gulf partners”.He says he is working on a diplomatic response.He met Mark Carney this morning and he will meet President Zelenskyy soon, he says, because there is an impact on Ukraine.

Starmer says he wants the war to end “as quickly as possible because the longer it goes on, the more dangerous the situation becomes and the worse it is for the cost of living back here at home”,He says the impact on the cost of living has been a priority for him,double quotation markNow, in recent days, I’ve visited community centres in England and Northern Ireland, and I know people are really worried about what this means for them,And look, I grew up working class in the 1970s,I remember how it feels when you’re struggling to make ends meet.

It’s a knot in your stomach.Every time the bills come through the door, and that’s at the forefront of my mind in meeting this crisis.