Starmer warns against 'false comfort' as he says Iran war will 'not have a quick or easy end'
Sir Keir Starmer has told his team they must not fall into a sense of “false comfort” in thinking the Iran war will have “a quick and early end” after Donald Trump announced a five-day pause in strikes.
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It comes after the US president claimed talks had taken place with Iran and its regime “very much” wants a deal - something Tehran disputes.
Asked how long he thought the crisis would last, the Prime Minister told the Liaison Committee: “It’s hard to answer that question, if I’m honest about it.
“I think all our focus and energy has to be in the swift de-escalation, but we’ve got to plan on the basis that it could go on for some time, and that’s the way in which we’ll plan this afternoon.
“Since the conflict started, I’ve been really clear with the team that we mustn’t fall into the sort of false comfort of thinking that there will necessarily be a quick and early end to this.
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“We have to plan on the basis there may not be.”
He added: “On energy supplies, I can reassure the committee that we haven’t any meaningful concern about energy supplies. Obviously the price fluctuates daily.”
The PM went on to say he “welcomes” reports of peace talks.
He said: “To that end, I welcome the talks reported between the US and Iran.
“And to be clear with the committee, we the UK were aware that that was happening, and the immediate priority has to be a swift resolution of the conflict and delivering a negotiated agreement which puts tough conditions on Iran, particularly in relation to nuclear weapons.”
Sir Keir also rubbished suggestions Iran could hit the UK with long-range missiles after it struck Cyprus last week.
Britain has “very effective ways of defending ourselves”, the Prime Minister has insisted amid questions about whether the UK could intercept long distance missiles shot at Britain by Iran.
The Prime Minister said: “We constantly assess this, and we do have very effective ways of defending ourselves.
“I don’t want to raise levels of public anxiety. They are anxious about what they’re already seeing on their television screens. They’re anxious about the impact it will have on them, particularly economically, in their households. And I don’t want to raise their levels of anxiety.
“I can tell you our military personnel, our security and intelligence services, are working literally 24/7 to keep us safe and doing a very good job in that regard.”
Sir Keir also told the Liaison Committee that Britain had “embedded the UK airspace battle management specialists into military commands” in the Middle East to defend against Iranian missile attacks, adding: “We are working with industry to distribute air defence missiles to Gulf partners. We’re deploying short range air defence systems to Bahrain at speed. This was an issue that came up as a matter of some urgency over the course of this weekend, and we are doing the same with Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.”
The PM’s comments come as energy security fears grow due to Israel and the US’ war on Iran.
On Sunday, the chief executive of Centrica, which owns British Gas, said global oil supplies are already down 20% because of the conflict.
Chris O'Shea said: "Cornwall Insight, I think, have predicted that there's going to be an increase in prices.
"If it stays as it is then I think that's inescapable.
"The world uses about 100 million barrels of oil a day. We've lost about 20% of that through the Strait of Hormuz."
Housing minister Steve Reed, meanwhile, urged people to carry on as normal.
He told Sky News: "There's no need to ration fuel. People should go around and buy their fuel just like they always would.
"If the situation were to change, then the Government would look at what was required in that circumstance."
Lord Richard Walker, the cost-of-living tsar, said he had "asked the Government to consider a temporary profit cap, if required, to stop producers and retailers exploiting the crisis to make windfall profits at the expense of consumers".
Sir Keir Starmer spoke to US President Donald Trump on Sunday about the need to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
The call lasted for 20 minutes and was constructive, it is understood.
The president has criticised Sir Keir's response to the war last week, describing him as "no Winston Churchill".
The Conservatives have said the Government should scrap "green taxes" to cut costs, and shadow housing secretary Sir James Cleverly suggested North Sea oil and gas fields should be opened.
Ministers have said the UK will not be dragged into a wider war in the Middle East, but Iran's missile attack on the joint US-UK base Diego Garcia has demonstrated that Europe could now be within reach.