Do not expect new policy from Starmer meeting todaypublished at 11:50 BST
11:50 BST
Henry Zeffman
Chief political correspondent
The businesses invited to meet the prime minister at Downing Street this afternoon displays the breadth of the economic impact of the war with Iran: energy companies including Shell and BP, the Lloyds insurance market, banking companies including Goldman Sachs and HSBC.
This is not an emergency meeting. Do not expect new government policy to emerge afterwards.
Instead it is an opportunity for the government to hear from these businesses about how they are affected, and for the businesses to hear the government’s perspective.
A senior naval officer will brief those present on the situation in the Strait of Hormuz.
We are told that Starmer will reiterate his view that de-escalation is the best way forward. As he knows, that is not something that those around the table this afternoon can influence.
It feels highly likely, perhaps inevitable, that at some point in the coming weeks and months the government will begin to take measures to alleviate the cost of living here in the UK.
Last week Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, outlined the principles she would apply to any bailout for household energy bills: a targeted scheme rather than a universal one like the Conservative package of 2022.
Additionally, Starmer has suggested that the government is reviewing the planned increase in fuel duty this autumn. It’s hard to find anybody who thinks that will now proceed as planned.
But the government is still for now taking its time and waiting to see how the conflict develops before getting into any more detail.