Reeves to unveil crackdown on ‘profiteering’ firms exploiting Iran war amid surge in prices

Chancellor to outline plans in statement to MPs on Tuesday after emergency Cobra meeting chaired by Starmer
Rachel Reeves is set to unveil a crackdown on companies exploiting the crisis in the Middle East in a bid to protect working people from “unfair price rises”.

The chancellor will lay out plans to MPs in the Commons on Tuesday for an “anti-profiteering framework” to catch firms raising prices unfairly during the Iran war .

She is also expected to call for a more diverse mix of energy sources to protect the public against voilatile oil and gas markets.

It comes after an emergency Cobra meeting on Monday, when Ms Reeves met with Sir Keir Starmer and other top ministers to address the economic impact of the Iran war.

The effective blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, crucial to the world’s oil supply, has sent prices spiralling – although they fell on Monday after Donald Trump claimed that talks were taking place with Iran to end the conflict.

Also on Monday, Sir Keir said Britain must be prepared for the Iran war to continue “for some time”.

In a statement following the Cobra meeting, Downing Street said: “The Chancellor set out the steps she will take tomorrow [Tuesday] – in a statement to Parliament – that will help protect working people from unfair price rises.”
Minister rejects calls for further North Sea drilling
A government minister has rejected calls for using more oil and gas from the North Sea amid calls to approve further drilling in an effort to reduce energy prices.

The Conservatives are set to force a vote in the Commons demanding new oil and gas drilling in the North Sea to help tackle soaring fuel prices, branding the ban “sheer lunacy”.

But energy minister Michael Shanks said doubling down on fossil fuels would be “the absolute wrong lesson” to learn from the outbreak of war in the Middle East.

“Our future lies in building a clean power system that breaks us away from the volatility of fossil fuels,” he told the BBC.

“It gets us off this roller coaster.

More than half of the economic shocks this country's faced have been caused by fossil fuel crises around the world.

We're determined to insulate households from that in the future that means moving away from fossil fuels building a clean power system protecting households and bringing down bills.”
Starmer warns UK must be prepared for lengthy conflict in Middle East
Though the US pause on strikes against Iranian energy infrastructure calmed markets and saw oil prices ease back, Sir Keir Starmer said Britain must be prepared for the Iran war to continue “for some time” on Monday.

Donald Trump had threatened to obliterate Iranian power plants if Tehran did not open the Strait of Hormuz to shipping by 11.45pm on Monday, and then said he would “postpone” the strikes after “very good and productive” talks with Tehran.

But Iranian officials have denied any such negotiations took place.

‘Nothing is off the table’ when it comes to energy bills support, minister says
Political reporter Athena Stavrou reports:
A minister has insisted the government will “fight people’s corners” as Rachel Reeves weighs up plans to implement support for British households in the wake of the war in the Middle East.

The chancellor is set to outline plans to guard against unfair price rises in a statement to MPs on Tuesday, following an emergency Cobra meeting on Monday afternoon.

Energy minister Michael Shanks said that minister’s have “left nothing off the table”, as he discussed further support that might come into place.

“We also know that we might need to introduce further support,” he told Sky News.

“We are three weeks into a conflict, it’s changing very rapidly.

We will continue to monitor what's happening.”
When asked if it would likely be targeted rather than universal support, he said: “ I think most people would accept that when we've got limited public financing, looking at targeting that to people who need it the most is probably an important thing for us to look at.

“But we also want to make sure we don't miss people in that, because often means testing things does miss those people who are just on the edge.”
UK was not involved in Iran-US peace talks
The UK was aware, but not involved, in the most recent talks between the US and Iran to end the war in the Middle East.

The US president insisted that “very good and productive” discussions on ending the war were taking place — a claim which has since been labelled as “fake news” by the Iranian parliament speaker, who said there had been no talks.

Energy minister Michael Shanks told Sky News that the government was “aware that the talks were happening”, but said it was not a part of them.

“I think in truth, we'll see how these play out over the coming days,” he said.

“But obviously we've been really clear, anything that leads to de escalation of this conflict is welcome.

Diplomacy is really important, so if there are people having these conversations that can only be a good thing.”
Reeves to outline plans to protect public from unfair price hikes
Rachel Reeves will outline plans to guard against unfair price rises amid fears among the public over surging oil and fuel prices sparked by the Iran war.

The Chancellor will make a statement to MPs after laying out her plans to the Prime Minister and colleagues in an emergency Cobra meeting on Monday afternoon.

Those will include an “anti-profiteering framework” to detect and crack down on companies exploiting the Middle East crisis and help the Competition and Markets Authority root out price gouging.

It comes after Sir Keir Starmer said he was looking at boosting the competition regulator’s powers, giving it “further teeth” to deal with profiteering.

This could involve giving regulators “time-limited, targeted powers” and the Treasury, Department for Business and Trade and regulators were said to be working “at pace” on what those powers could be.

The Chancellor is also expected to tell the Commons that Britain needs a diverse mix of energy to shield the public from volatile fossil fuel markets and stress the importance of not letting “blockers” get in the way of boosting Britain’s nuclear power supply.

Ms Reeves will announce that she is exploring government-backed indemnities for critical energy security projects so construction can continue if a project is legally challenged.

Motorists should not drive slower because of Iran oil crisis, minister
Motorists should not drive slower nor buy fuel differently because of the Iran oil crisis, an energy minister has said.

Michael Shanks was asked by Times Radio if drivers should change their habits as a result of the oil restrictions caused by the conflict in the Middle East.

He told the broadcaster: “They should do everything as absolutely normal because there is no shortage of fuel anywhere in the country at the moment.

We monitor this every single day, I look at the numbers personally.

There’s no issue at all with that.”
Mr Shanks added: “People should go about their business as normal.

That’s what the RAC and the AA have said.

It’s really important people do that.

“There’s no shortage of fuel and everything is working as normal.”
Asked directly if drivers should slow their speed, Mr Shanks replied: “Look genuinely, people shouldn’t change their behaviour or their habits in the slightest.”
Starmer to give Competition and Markets Authority 'further teeth' to protect customers
Sir Keir Starmer said on Monday he was looking at giving the Competition and Markets Authority “further teeth” so it can better protect customers.

As part of that, Downing Street said the Government will not hesitate to give the CMA and other regulators “time-limited, targeted powers” if needed.

The Treasury, Department for Business and Trade and regulators are working “at pace” on what those powers could be.

No 10: Reeves to 'crack down on companies if they exploit' Iran war
Chancellor Rachel Reeves, governor of the Bank of England Andrew Bailey and energy secretary Ed Miliband gave updates on the economy regarding the crisis in the Middle East in a Cobra meeting on Monday.

They stressed that de-escalation and ending the Iran conflict was “the best thing we can do for the economy”, Downing Street said in a readout.

“The Chancellor set out the steps she will take tomorrow – in a statement to Parliament – that will help protect working people from unfair price rises.

“She spoke about a plan to detect and crack down on companies if they exploit the crisis in the Middle East.

This will take the form of a new anti-profiteering framework which will help regulators like the CMA to root out price gouging.”
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