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Keir Starmer to hold emergency COBR meeting

Published 12:45 22 Mar 2026 GMT

Updated 12:45 22 Mar 2026 GMT

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Keir Starmer to hold emergency COBR meeting

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Amid the latest economic shock

Prime Minister Keir Starmer is expected to chair an emergency COBR meeting this week with top ministers amid the growing crisis of cost of living.

Starmer recently promised to shield Brits from the economic shock that has been caused by US-Israeli war with Iran.

The meeting, which is set to take place on Monday, will also be attended by Andrew Bailey, the Bank of England governor.

The last COBR meeting, which stands for Cabinet Office Briefing Rooms, was held on Thursday where there was a focus on the domestic impact of the conflict in the Middle East.

Its purpose is to co-ordinate the actions in response to national or regional crises, or during overseas events with major implications for the UK.

Starmer also chaired a COBR meeting last month, following the US and Israeli air strikes on Iran.

An energy boss earlier warned that price rises may be “inescapable” if the Iran war East drags on, while the chief executive of Centrica, which owns British Gas, said on Sunday that because of the conflict, global oil supplies are down 20%.

“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”, Chris O'Shea told BBC's Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme.

However, according to Cabinet minister Steve Reed, there is a contingency plan ready, but urged people to “buy their fuel just like they always would”.

“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”, he told Sky News' Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips.

“We did intervene when it came to heating oil, because we saw the prices escalating and people were seeing their bills doubling and tripling overnight. We can't have that, so we stepped in to support people”, he added.

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