Keir Starmer's 39 foreign trips cost British taxpayers £4.2m after less than two years in office

Al Carns tells GB News that Britons will feel the impact of Iran war

Armed Forces minister Al Carns has told GB News that Britons will feel the impact of the US and Israel's war on Iran.

Mr Carns told GB News: "I've always been told when you're putting troops in harm's way, there are three real things you need to think about. One, you need a legal mandate. Two, you need a plan. And three, you've got to think to the finish.

"This war in Iran has cut off a large chunk of the world's energy resources and a whole plethora of critical minerals that we are going to feel the burden of.

"The Prime Minister called a Cobra meeting just several days ago to really look across government, work out the impacts, take the totality of those impacts, and then make sure measures were put in place to protect and indeed support the population as we move forward.

"But let's be really clear on this. There are reverberations from that war in Iran that we will feel here in the UK and across the rest of the world."

Scottish Tory leader says there is 'huge tranche' of potential support for party

There is a "huge tranche" of small c conservative thinking in Scotland, Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay has said.

The Tory said he has been a "conservative small c, like most people, a lot of people in Scotland, all my days."

Recent opinion polls suggest the Scottish Conservatives may fall to fourth place in the forthcoming Holyrood elections, behind the SNP, Labour and Reform UK.

Mr Findlay said the challenge will be to "turn that small c into a big C" at the ballot box in six weeks’ time.

Keir Starmer says he is 'very keen' to tackle social media addiction

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said he was "very keen" for the Government to "do more on addictive features within social media."

Asked if a landmark social media addiction trial in the US pointed to a shift in public mood with expectation of more aggressive regulation, Sir Keir told reporters: "I think it does, and obviously we’ll study that ruling very carefully, but I’m absolutely clear that we need to go further.

"The status quo isn’t good enough. We need to do more to protect children. That’s why we’re consulting about issues such as banning social media for under-16s.

"I’m very keen that we do more on addictive features within social media. We’ve already taken the powers so that when we get to the end of the consultation, we don’t have to wait years to implement this.

"But I want to be really clear, it’s not if things are going to change, things are going to change. The question is, how much and what are we going to do? And that’s what we’re working on. I’ll be saying some more about this tomorrow."

Shadow Business Secretary warns Britain has 'no seat' at the table over war in Iran

Shadow Business Secretary Andrew Griffith has warned Britain does "not have a seat at the table" as he lamented the state of the British armed forces.

When asked if the Conservatives support the Liberal Democrat plan to "walk away" from global talks about the war in Iran, the senior Tory told GB News: "I have no idea if there were talks underway or with whom or when.

"One of the great tragedies, I think is the much depleted UK armed forces, brilliant though the people who serve are, means in situations like this which of course impact us all, [is that] we do not have a seat at the table."

Senior Lib Dem says Donald Trump's war in Iran is 'illegal' 

A senior Liberal Democrat has expressed concern over the ongoing war in Iran and what it could mean for motorists at the pumps.

The party's health spokeswoman Helen Morgan told GB News: "Obviously we're no fans of the Iranian regime. We've repeatedly called for the prescription of the Revolutionary Guard there. But ultimately, this war is illegal.

"There was no sort of immediate provocation for Donald Trump to attack Iran. We're really worried about the impact that this is going to have in the UK on people who are already really struggling with the cost of living.

"I think a lot of people are extremely worried about what soaring oil prices are going to mean for them as we get later on into the year when energy prices go up.

"Of course, they're already seeing it at the petrol pumps and expecting it to feed through into all sorts of other types of inflation, particularly food. So we really want to see this come to an end when no fans of the of the Iranian regime. But we have to think of the worldwide consequences of this conflict."

Labour does not believe Iran has plans to attack UK, says John Healey

Defence Secretary John Healey has stressed Labour does not believe Iran has any plans to attack the UK, but declined to rule out that the country has the capability to do so.

Asked repeatedly on Sky News whether Iran could reach London with missile strikes, he said: "We have no assessment of Iranian plans to strike London."

Pressed further on whether the country has the capability to strike London, he said: "What I’m saying, and trying to reassure people is, that we’ve got no assessment that Iran has any plans to attack.

"But we have the resources, we have the alliance in place to be able to defend Britain, and we do that with allies, and we do that with Nato.

"As far as Iran goes, they’re demonstrating a capacity to hit across the Middle East, we see the same tactics and technologies that we see employed by Russia in Ukraine, and this is the hidden hand of Putin in both conflicts."

Reform UK calls for petrol VAT to be slashed after Iran war price rises

Robert Jenrick will call on Chancellor Rachel Reeves to halve VAT on petrol for three months in the face of rising oil prices caused by the Iran war.

Reform UK said the move would reduce pump prices by 12p a litre for petrol and 14p a litre for diesel, at a cost to the taxpayer of £1.5billion.

Since the outbreak of the Iran war, prices have increased by around 15p a litre for petrol and 30p a litre for diesel.

Mr Jenrick, Reform’s economic spokesman, is expected to make the call on a visit to a petrol station in Dover, where he will offer drivers 5p off fuel.

The visit follows a similar stunt by party leader Nigel Farage earlier this month as part of Reform’s campaign against the Government’s plan to reverse the temporary 5p cut to fuel duty introduced after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

WATCH: 'Far-fetched' to suggest McSweeney phone theft linked to Mandelson files, says Sir Keir Starmer

Here's what's happening today in Westminster and beyond

Good morning from all of us on the GB News Politics Team. Here's what's happening today in Westminster and beyond:

Sir Keir Starmer is in Helsinki for a Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) conference, with Russia's war on Ukraine on the table, while Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper is in France for a G7 meeting for talks about the ongoing crisis in the Middle East.

This morning, the Prime Minister said it is "a little bit far-fetched" to suggest the theft of his former chief of staff Morgan McSweeney’s phone was in any way linked to the release of files on Lord Peter Mandelson.

Shabana Mahmood's new measures on migration will take effect today as part of Labour's push to crack down on asylum claims. GB News Assistant News Editor Jack Walters has the full write up here.

Closer to home, we've got a barrage of election launches today, with Reform UK officially starting their local campaign with a rally in Sunderland tonight.

North of the border, the SNP, Scottish Conservatives and Scottish Labour will all getting their campaigns underway this morning for the Holyrood election.

Keeping it local, Labour is set to axe 800 councillors and shut down 43 councils across England within the next two years. Our reporter Dan McDonald has the full story here.

In the Commons today, there'll be debates on transport accessibility for disabled people and support for Gurkha veterans, while long serving Tory MP David Davis has the adjournment debate on Cheshire Police’s conduct over the Lucy Letby case.

Here on GB News, we'll be joined by Defence Minister Al Carns, Shadow Business Secretary Andrew Griffith and Liberal Democrat health spokeswoman Helen Morgan.