US Iran War LIVE: UK PM Keir Starmer Briefs Media on West Asia Conflict | UK Support Measures

[0:00]at pace for deescalation and peace. It is now clear that the impact of this war will affect the future of our country. So today I want to reassure the British people that no matter how fierce this storm, we are well placed to weather it. And that we have a long-term plan to emerge from it a stronger and more secure nation. First, let me say once again, this is not our war. We will not be drawn into the conflict, that is not in our national interest. And the most effective way we can support the cost of living in Britain is to push for de-escalation in the Middle East and a reopening of the straight of hormos. Which is such a vital route for energy. To that end, we're exploring each and every diplomatic avenue that is available to us. The foreign secretary and the Chancellor have met their counterparts in the G7. The Defense Secretary has been in the Middle East speaking to our partners. And the UK has now brought together 35 nations around our statement of intent to push as one for maritime security across the Gulf. And today I can announce that later this week the Foreign Secretary will host a meeting that brings those nations together for the first time. where we will assess all viable diplomatic and political measures that we can take to restore freedom of navigation, guarantee the safety of trapped ships and seafarers and resume the movement of vital commodities. Following that meeting, we will also convene our military planners to look at how we can marshall our capabilities and make the straight accessible and safe after the fighting has stopped. Because I do have to level with people on this. This will not be easy. I spoke with relevant business leaders in shipping, finance, insurance, and energy supply in Downing Street on Monday. And they were clear with me, the primary challenge they face is not one of insurance, but one of safety and security of passage. So the fact is, we need all of this together. A united front of military strength and diplomatic activity, partnership with industry, so they too can mobilize once the fighting has stopped. And above all, clear and calm leadership. That is what this country is ready to provide. Because my guide from the start of this conflict has always been the British national interest. And freedom of navigation in the Middle East is in the British national interest. Let me turn now to the impact at home. Because I know that this is causing huge concern. People turn on their television, they look at their screens, they see explosions, infrastructure blown up, aggressive rhetoric. They worry that the UK will be dragged into this. We won't. But I also know that people have a deep sense that this will affect their family and their household. They can see it at the petrol pumps, and they worry about their energy bills. It is the job of government to meet these moments, not just with immediate action, but also with clarity about our direction. That's what I remember about the 1970s, when my family could not pay every bill. We struggled through the energy shocks and the price rises of that decade. But we always believed in the end that Britain would secure a better future for us. And I think that's what's been lacking in the crises of recent years. And I'm not prepared to ask the British people once again to go through a crisis, come out of it and say, business as usual, back to the status quo. So on our economy, on our energy, and on our defense, this time will be different. We will make Britain a fairer and more secure country. Because that hope is what is needed, as the country comes together. And because how we emerge from this crisis will define us for a generation. So, as I said out a few weeks ago, we have a five-point plan for the immediate crisis. We're cutting energy bills by over £100 per household today. We've extended the cut in fuel duty until September, and we're monitoring that situation daily. We're supporting people exposed to heating oil rises, setting aside £53 million for that. We're taking back control of our energy security by investing in clean British energy. Because that is the only way we get your bills off the roller coaster that is controlled by Putin and the Iranian regime. And frankly, I'm sick and tired of your energy bills fluctuating up and down because we're on the international market, when if we took control of our energy and had homegrown renewables, we could stabilize your bills. And finally, as I say, we'll continue to push for de-escalation in the Middle East. But look, there's also a bigger argument here, because every one of these measures is part of a long-term plan to make our country more secure, more resilient to shocks like this. I mean, just look at what's happening today. Today your energy bills will be cut because of the action that we took at the budget. And whatever happens in Iran, that price is now fixed until July. Today, if you need a prescription, instead of rising as they used to, the price will be frozen for a year. Today, if you're working on the national living wage, your wages will go up. Next week on Monday, the state pension will go up. Next week the two child limit will be scrapped, lifting 450,000 children out of poverty, the vast majority from working households. And next week the biggest strengthening of workers' rights in a generation will become law, a huge boost to the economic security of working people. Now, some people may say, this isn't new, this was already planned. To which I say, yes. That is my point. Everything I've done in politics, certainly since the Ukraine war in 2022, is response to this new and dangerous world. We campaigned for a windfall tax on oil and gas companies, which we extended. We focused on the cost of living, and we acted at the budget. And we've always emphasized the need for clean British energy, and we've invested because we knew that making our country secure in this world was the ultimate test that we would face, and our ultimate responsibility to the British people. Now, it's not going to be easy, clearly. And in the coming weeks, as you would expect, we will continue to assess the economic effects. We will continue to stand up for the British national interest, and we will continue to do what we must to guide our country calmly through this storm. However, it is increasingly clear that as the world continues down this volatile path, our long-term national interest requires closer partnership with our allies in Europe and with the European Union. Now, we have made progress on this front, on agriculture, electricity, emissions trading and more. But as the Chancellor has rightly pointed out, Brexit did deep damage to our economy. And the opportunities to strengthen our security and cut the cost of living are simply too big to ignore. So, in the coming weeks, we will announce a new summit with our EU partners. And I can tell you that at that summit, the UK will not just ratify existing commitments made at last year's summit, we want to be more ambitious. Closer economic cooperation, closer security cooperation, a partnership that recognizes our shared values, our shared interest, and our shared future. A partnership for the dangerous world that we must navigate together. A world where this government will be guided at all times by the interests of the British people. Thank you. I will now take questions, and I have the BBC first, Henry. Thanks, Prime Minister. Um, as it stands, fuel duty is set to go up in September. You've said that's under review, I think today, you said you were monitoring it. It is very hard to find anyone here in Westminster who seriously believes that you are going to press ahead with that. So if today was about reassurance, why don't you just give motorists that little bit of reassurance now and tell them it's not going to go up? Well, fuel duty is um, uh, set until September as you rightly say, in terms of the cut. That will remain the position. The other measures that we're taking today, obviously energy bills are going down today on average by £100 a household, and that will remain down until the end of June, whatever happens in the conflict. I know people are concerned to know that that remains the case, whatever happens in the conflict, so let me be clear about that. And those that are heating their homes with oil are obviously getting support. We are keeping this under review. Um, obviously a lot will depend on how long the conflict goes on, how quickly the Strait of Hormuz can be opened. And that's why I've made the statement I have today about the next step that we're taking, particularly on the Strait of Hormuz, which um will be crucial in terms of what actually happens to energy prices and how long there's a spike in those prices. So that's the action that we're taking today. Um, I've got ITV, Harry, Harry. Thank you, Prime Minister. Harry Horton from ITV News. Um, President Trump has said uh this morning that he's considering pulling the US out of NATO. You've just talked about looking at a new long-term partnership with the EU including on security. Is this an acknowledgement that Britain's long-term security relationship with the United States is about to change? Well, let me say a number of things in response to that. Firstly, NATO is the single most effective military alliance the world has ever seen. Um, and it has kept us safe for many decades and we are fully committed to NATO. Um, secondly, that whatever the pressure on me and others, whatever the noise, um, I'm going to act in the British national interest in all the decisions that I make. And that's why I've been absolutely clear that this is not our war, and we're not going to get dragged into it. But I'm equally clear that when it comes to defense and security and our economic future, we have to have closer ties with Europe. That's why we had the summit last year. This year, as I've just announced, there'll be a further summit there. We will make good on the commitments that we put in place last year, um, but we will also um go further in relation to the alignment. Thank you very much, Harry. I've got Lucy from Sky. Lucy. Morning, Prime Minister. Um, I want to pick up some of what you said about uh closer relationships with Europe. Do you believe, you said before that you don't think it's right for the UK to rejoin the customs union. Are we heading towards more, more of a rejoining of the single market? Is that something you think would improve Britain's economic future? Well, I do think that um we should strengthen our cooperation on defense, security, energy emissions and the economy. And on the economy, the steps we've taken so far have been in relation to uh the single market. Uh and um I'm ambitious that we can do more in relation to the single market because I think that's uh hugely in our economic um interests. Obviously this is a matter of negotiation and discussion with the EU, um, but um, the summit we have this year will not be just be a stocktake summit where we look at actually the 10 strands that we put in place last year, it will be a deliberate um ambition on our part to go further than that and to cooperate more deeply including in the economic um sphere. So thank you Jessica. I've got Jack from the Sun. Jack. Hi, Prime Minister. Jack Elsom from the Sun. Can I just pick up on that point? Do your manifesto commitments not to rejoin the customs union, free movement or single market still stand? And you previously said from uh from this podium that you wouldn't be forced to choose between tethering Britain closer to either Europe or America. So is it fair that you are actually choosing Europe over America? Well, uh manifesto commitments remain. Um, but we made it clear in the manifesto that um we wanted a closer relationship with Europe. So that is perfectly consistent with our manifesto. Um, I'm not going to choose, um, because I think it's in our interest to have a strong relationship with the US and with Europe. But I do think that when it comes to defense and security, energy, emissions and the economy, we need a stronger relationship with Europe. I actually think that will help strengthen our relationship with the US because successive um presidents have said that Europe needs to do more on their defense and security. I've long argued that with European colleagues that we should be doing more. Um, and that's not just um, for example on defense spend, um, although it is on defense spend, it's also on how we spend, how we collaborate, cooperate. And that's why I've focused on deals, for example, that we've done with Norway in relation to frigates. Really good deal, very good for trade, very good for jobs in the cloud, but really importantly inter-operability of the frigates. We can have our crews on their frigates, they can have their crews on our frigates. That to me is the future of a stronger European defense, which is bringing together the capability that we've had. So we don't just get um each country developing its own capability. It's an ongoing discussion. I spoke at the Munich Conference about it. I spoke to the Jeff meeting about it last week in Finland that we have to go beyond just a numbers game and be much more integrated in the way that we work on defense and security. Thank you, Jack, and I've got Joe from Bloomberg. Joe. Prime Minister, President Trump said yesterday that he wouldn't come to the aid of the UK anymore in his true social post. How seriously do you take that threat from our main alley? Well, it's very important that um we're clear, there's been a good deal of pressure on me to change my position in relation to joining the war. Um, and I'm not going to change my position on the war. So, whatever the pressure, whatever the noise, I'm the British Prime Minister and I have to act in our national interests. Um, I should say that on defense and security and intelligence, we're obviously working closely with the US as we always do. Um, and in relation to the planning on the Strait of Hormuz, of course, that involves talking to the Americans as well. So, as I say, whatever the pressure, whatever the noise, my job is as British Prime Minister to concentrate on what's in the British national interest. That's what's guided me through this conflict so far. It will continue to guide me as we go forward.