Sir Keir Starmer is updating the House of Commons on the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
It comes after the prime minister said the UK will not get dragged into the war in Iran, and has refused to support Donald Trump’s blockade of Iran’s ports.
The US military says it will begin a blockade of all Iranian ports and coastal areas on Monday, in a move that has once again caused oil prices to jump to more than $100 a barrel.
Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live, Starmer said: “What we’ve been doing over the last few weeks – and this was part of what I was discussing with the Gulf states last week – is bringing countries together to keep the strait open, not shut.
“We’re not supporting the blockade and all of the marshalling diplomatically, politically and capability – we do have mine-sweeping capability, I won’t go into operational matters, but we do have that capability – that’s all focused, from our point of view, on getting the strait fully open.”
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