Keir Starmer slaps down Donald Trump Iran blockade plan and warns UK won't be 'dragged' in

Keir Starmer slaps down Donald Trump Iran blockade plan and warns UK won't be 'dragged' inKeir Starmer has slapped down Donald Trump's plans to blockade the Strait of Hormuz saying the UK wants the vital shipping route to be 'open, not shut'CommentsNewsSophie Huskisson Political Correspondent09:00, 13 Apr 2026Updated 09:13, 13 Apr 2026View 2 ImagesKeir Starmer has slapped down Donald Trump's plans to blockade the Strait of Hormuz(Image: Getty Images)Keir Starmer has slapped down Donald Trump's belligerent threat to blockade the Strait of Hormuz saying the UK wants the vital shipping route to be "open, not shut".‌The PM said the UK is "not supporting the blockade" and that he wants the Strait to be "fully open". The PM - who visited the Gulf last week to hold talks on opening the vital shipping route - repeated his position that the UK "is not getting dragged into" the Iran war.‌He told BBC Radio 5: "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 Straits open, not shut. And, that isn't a sort of remote issue. All the time the Strait is shut or not free for navigation in the way it should be, that means that oil and gas is not getting to market.‌READ MORE: Keir Starmer sends warning to US and Iran after peace talks break downView 2 ImagesDonald Trump said on Sunday night the US Navy would blockade the Strait(Image: AP)"That means the price is going up. That means everybody listening to this is facing higher energy bills. And I don't want that to happen. I want their energy bills to be stabilised and lower."And so it is, in my view, vital that we get the Strait open and fully open. And that's where we've put all of our efforts in the last few weeks, and we'll continue to do so. Gulf states last week were really clear with me that...