Sir Keir Starmer will hold an emergency Cobra meeting tomorrow to discuss the impact of the ongoing war in Iran.
The Prime Minister, who has already held two Iran-related Cobra meetings this month, is expected to be joined by senior ministers and security chiefs.
The third Cobra meeting will likely focus on fears about the impact of the Iran war on living costs, with energy bills set to surge by more than £300 due to issues in the Strait of Hormuz.
Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey will join the Prime Minister at the meeting tomorrow morning.
Sir Keir will address senior ministers and intelligence chiefs just hours after US President Donald Trump issued Iran a 48-hour ultimatum to fully open the vital Strait of Hormuz.
Mr Trump vowed to “obliterate” Iran’s power plants if Tehran refuses to reopen the key shipping route.
However, Iran also sent a chilling warning to the UK this week after Sir Keir U-turned to let the US use British bases as part of Operation Epic Fury.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi claimed Sir Keir was “ignoring his own people” and “putting British lives in danger” by siding with the US.
The Israel Defence Forces fuelled further concerns about Iran’s actions towards the UK last night after warning Tehran had weapons capable of reaching Britain.
Iran is believed to possess weapons that could reach up to 2,485 miles away, putting Britain just in reach.
The joint UK-US military base Diego Garcia, which is located on the Chagos Islands, was also targeted by two Iranian intermediate-range ballistic missiles on Friday morning.
Despite fears about Iran’s missile capacity, Housing Secretary Steve Reed today dismissed the threat posed to Britain.
Speaking to GB News, Mr Reed said: “There is no assessment that I am aware of that Iran is either targeting or could, even if they wanted to, target the UK directly.
“If they did, and there is no assessment of this, we have one of the finest militaries in the world that is perfectly capable of protecting and defending the United Kingdom.”
However, Sir Keir is looking to reassure Britons about the adverse economic consequences of events in the Middle East.
Speaking earlier this week, the Prime Minister said: “We are working towards a swift resolution to the situation in the Middle East, in the best interests of the British people.”
He added: “There is no question that ending the war is the quickest way to reduce the cost of living.”
Experts have already issued dire warnings about energy bills soaring by as much as £300 for average homes next year.
Power supplier EDF confirmed the price cap will rise to £1,900 following the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, having previously been kept at £1,641.
Petrol prices have also spiked after Iran blitzed Qatar’s man energy hub in retaliatory strikes.
Costs jumped by 25 per cent to hit 174.49p a therm.
Meanwhile, the UK stock market dropped by 2.4 per cent earlier this week, with shares in building firm Barratt taking an eight per cent hit.
However, the Prime Minister is also under increased pressure to be more transparent about events in the Middle East.
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said: “The Prime Minister needs to immediately come clean about the details of this latest attack on British troops and explain why the public weren’t informed sooner”.
