Starmer’s humbling phone call to Trump as ministers ‘consider freezing energy bills’ after war drives up gas prices

Keir Starmer last night scrambled to salvage his private relationship after a public falling out with Donald Trump.

He spoke to the US President who endured a week of insults after he refused to allow US planes to take off from the UK to attack Iran.

They discussed military co-operation in the Middle East and the Prime Minister expressed his ‘sincerest condolences’ during a 20-minute phone call over the deaths of six soldiers in the conflict; This number increased to seven last night.

But Sir Keir now faces a war at home as the Middle East crisis threatens his drive to reduce the cost of living. He admitted last night that households were worried about how this would affect their energy bills.

On another dramatic day:

• Iran elects Mojtaba Khamenei, son of assassinated Ali Khamenei, as leader
• Israel warns it will hunt and kill whoever heads the Islamic Republic
• Tehran’s streets remain like ‘rivers of fire’ after oil depots were bombed
• Iran retaliated by firing missiles at Israel, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Dubai.

Fears are growing that the UK will be hit by the highest wholesale gas prices in Europe and that oil prices could surpass $100 a barrel after Iran effectively closed the vital Strait of Hormuz to tankers.

The UK faces paying more for foreign gas because it has less storage than other European countries and reserves only 6,700 GWh (gigawatt hours), which is enough for just two days.

Salute: Mr Trump honors six soldiers killed in Gulf – total rises to seven last night

Visiting a community center in London today, Sir Keir is expected to say: ‘I know people are worried about their friends and family as the conflict in the Middle East continues. That’s why we’re working around the clock to keep British citizens safe.

‘But people are also rightly concerned about what this means for life at home; their bills, their jobs, their communities.

‘Whatever the wind, supporting working people and their families with their living costs is always on my mind.’

Ministers are understood to be considering intervening to protect families from rising bills, similar to the freeze announced after Russia invaded Ukraine.

One of Labour’s main manifesto promises was to cut energy bills by £300 by 2030; Failure to do so will further damage its declining support.

Energy Security Secretary Ed Miliband called consumer champion Martin Lewis at the weekend in a sign of concerns at the top of government about the impact of the Iran war on prices.

The founder of the Money Saving Expert website posted on social media: ‘I hung up after Ed Miliband called to discuss in detail the problems people are facing with domestic energy bills and heating oil.’ Mr Lewis said although energy bills were protected from a sudden rise in wholesale prices, a ‘potential cost ticking bomb’ emerged when the summer price cap was set in late spring.

He added: ‘If rates have not fallen again by May and look set to remain high, so the price cap in October will also rise, and if cheap fixes are not available, then things get into real trouble territory. If a tougher response is needed, the Government needs to plan now for that possibility (and I suspect it has already begun to do so).’

Last week, Qatar closed the world’s largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility after an Iranian drone attack, and Israel hit Tehran’s oil facilities yesterday, blanketing the skies over the capital with thick black smoke.

Show of force: A missile-laden US Boeing C-17A Globemaster touched down at RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire yesterday behind a USAF B-1B Lancer long-range bomber

The attack prompted Iran to warn that it would retaliate against oil fields in neighboring countries if the attacks continued. Ebrahim Zolfaghari, spokesman for Iran’s central military command, told state television: ‘If you can tolerate more than $200 per barrel of oil, continue with this game.’

Natasha Fielding, gas price expert at commodity consultancy Argus Media, said: ‘The UK’s limited gas storage leaves it more exposed than the rest of Europe to global gas and LNG supply disruptions during the winter months.

‘The UK cannot rely on storage to meet demand in case of cold weather; It must therefore be able to secure LNG cargoes before other European countries, whatever the cost.’

However, the Government insisted that gas supplies were not threatened.

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said: ‘It is simply not true that the UK only has access to a two-day supply of gas. ‘We have a diverse energy mix and are confident in our security of supply.’

National Gas, which operates the UK’s gas network, said: ‘The UK’s gas storage levels are generally in line with what we would expect at this point in the year and are comparable to this time last year.

‘Storage makes up only a small part of Britain’s diverse gas supply mix. The majority of our gas comes from the UK Continental Shelf and Norway, complete with LNG, interconnections with continental Europe and storage.’

Yesterday’s phone call between Sir Keir and Mr Trump was the first since the previous Saturday, when the Prime Minister turned down the US President’s initial request for US planes to depart from RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire and Diego Garcia in the Chagos Islands.

Although Sir Keir changed his stance a day later, his initial denial prompted Mr Trump to repeatedly berate him.

She started by saying she was ‘very disappointed’ in Sir Keir, then said he ‘wasn’t helpful’ and that it was ‘sad’ to see this special relationship in jeopardy. He branded the UK ‘very, very uncooperative’ and added: ‘It is not Winston Churchill we are dealing with.’ Four B-1 bombers landed at RAF Fairford at the weekend, Britain is sending a Merlin helicopter to the Middle East and HMS Dragon to protect its Akrotiri base in Cyprus.

The Prime Minister last night scrambled to salvage his special relationship with Donald Trump after a public falling out with him

The Ministry of Defense announced that British forces also shot down an attack plane fired into Iraq.

But after the Ministry of Defense said preparations to deploy the aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales were being stepped up, Mr Trump shared: ‘It’s okay, Prime Minister Starmer, we don’t need them anymore – But we’ll remember.’

‘We don’t need people joining Wars after we’ve already won them!’

Former army commander Lord Dannatt said: ‘This is very frustrating because America is an important ally of ours. They need us. We need them. And Keir Starmer’s legal hot spot has destroyed that relationship.’

But Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said last night: ‘What I’ve learned doing this job is that you need to focus on the content, not the social media posts.’

Sir Keir is still under pressure to cancel the King’s state visit to America next month because of the President’s behaviour.

Sir Ed Davey, leader of the Liberal Democrats, said: ‘Our King’s state visit will be seen as another major diplomatic coup for President Trump. It should not be given to someone who repeatedly insults and harms our country.’