UK News

Starmer confirms UK will not support US blockade of strait of Hormuz – UK politics live | Politics

Published

4 months ago

April 13, 2026

info@oxinfo.co.uk

Key events

Badenoch says aligning with single market rules, but staying out of EU, ‘worst of both worlds’

Given how unpopular Brexit has turned out to be, you might think there would be limited appeal for the ‘Brexit betrayal’ counterattack as a response to the story about the government’s plans to align much more with single market rules. (See 9.39am.)

But Reform UK are happy with their old war cry. This is how Richard Tice, the party’s deputy leader, responded to the Guardian’s story.

Outrageous

Labour plots to deny MPs vote on new EU sell-out

Reform will reverse such a betrayal

Kemi Badenoch has been giving interviews this morning. Asked about the story on Sky News, she said aligning with the EU’s single market rules, while not being a member, would be “the worst of both worlds”. She went on:

It won’t help growth. Why should we be out of the EU, able to make our own choices and not take those decisions?

Remember we are a competitive, competing economy. Taking EU rules without having a vote on them is completely wrong.

If you want to be in the EU, come out and say ‘We want to go back into the EU’. That’s what they’re not brave enough to do.

So they’re picking this weird hybrid, which is the worst of both worlds. It’s not in the EU, it’s not out. It’s just doing whatever the EU is doing.

Government shift on intelligence evidence could revive delayed Hillsborough law

The delayed Hillsborough law could come into force after a shift by the government on forcing intelligence services to give evidence to public inquiries, Peter Walker reports.

Fried nuggets and steamed sponges off menu in school food overhaul in England

Keir Starmer is at a school in Angela Rayner’s constituency this morning (see 9.45am) to promote this government announcement about school food. Raphael Boyd has the story here.

Keir Starmer has joined his former deputy prime minister Angela Rayner and Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham on a school visit, the Press Assocation reports. PA says:

The trio joined up on Monday in the Greater Manchester area and put on a united front, despite Rayner previously appearing to challenge Keir Starmer’s leadership and Burnham being blocked from standing in the Gorton and Denton byelection.

They all shared a joke as they sat amongst schoolchildren, asking the youngsters about their favourite breakfast foods and favourite sports.

The visit comes after the government announced deep-fried food will be banned from school menus, with sugary treats limited.

Keir Starmer, Angela Rayner and Andy Burnham at a primary school in Ashton-under-Lyne, north-west England. Photograph: Paul Ellis/AP

Starmer defends proposed law letting Britain align with EU regulations easily, saying ‘closer relationship with Europe’ vital

In his Radio 5 Live interview, Keir Starmer was also asked about this Guardian story by Alexandra Topping and Peter Walker saying “ministers are planning to fundamentally reshape Britain’s relationship with the European Union, with new legislation that could result in the UK signing up to EU single market rules without a normal parliamentary vote”.

Starmer defended the proposed legislation, saying a closer relationship with the EU was in the national interest. He said:

We’re in a world where there’s massive conflict, great uncertainty, and I strongly believe the UK’s best interests are in a stronger, closer relationship with Europe, whether that’s defence and security, of course, energy … and also our economy …

I think there’s also a sense, 10 years on from the Brexit referendum, that we’ve got to look forward now, not backwards.

Let’s not just have all the old arguments over the last decade. Let’s go forward and recognise that a stronger, closer relationship with Europe is in the UK’s best interest, particularly in a world that is as volatile as it is at the moment and I know that worries a lot of people.

In response to the suggestion that allowing the UK to align with EU regulation using secondary legislation amounted to integration by stealth, Starmer said this would only happen under a bill “voted on in parliament”.

Starmer confirms UK will not support US blockade of strait of Hormuz

Good morning. The parliamentary recess is over, the Iran war disaster isn’t, campaigning is ramping up because the May elections are less than four weeks to go, and there will be plenty for MPs to discuss as they meet in the Commons this afternoon. The full timetable, as usual, is down below.

Keir Starmer is in Greater Manchester this morning, on a visit linked to the English local elections. But he is expected to be in the Commons later giving an update on the UK response to the Iran war, and in an interview on Radio 5 Live a few minutes ago he confirmed that Britain will not join the US in enforcing the new blockade of the stait of Hormuz proposed by Donald Trump.

Asked if the UK would support the US with its blockade, Starmer replied:

We’re not supporting blockade.

Starmer confirmed that the UK does have “minesweeping capability”. He said he would not go into “operational matters”, but he confirmed that Britain has been talking with allies, in a reference to discussions on what could be done to keep the strait open after the conflict between Iran and the US is over.

Having the strait open was a priority, he said.

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. 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.

I will post more from the interview shortly.

Here is the agenda for the day.

Morning: Keir Starmer is on a visit in Greater Manchester, and is doing an interview with Radio 5 Live.

Morning: Kemi Badenoch is on a campaign visit in Clapham, south London.

10.30am: Anas Sarwar launches Scottish Labour’s manifesto for the Holyrood election.

10.30am: Wes Streeting, the health secretary, gives a speech on NHS funding to the IPPR thinktank.

11am: Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, and Zia Yusuf, the Reform chair, hold a press conference.

11.30am: Downing Street holds a lobby briefing.

Noon: The Southport inquiry publishes its phase one report.

2.30pm: Steve Reed, the housing secretary, takes questions in the Commons.

After 3.30pm: Starmer is expected to make a statement to MPs about the Iran war and his tour of the Gulf last week.

If you want to contact me, please post a message below the line when comments are open (between 10am and 3pm), or message me on social media. I can’t read all the messages BTL, but if you put “Andrew” in a message aimed at me, I am more likely to see it because I search for posts containing that word.

If you want to flag something up urgently, it is best to use social media. You can reach me on Bluesky at @andrewsparrowgdn.bsky.social. The Guardian has given up posting from its official accounts on X, but individual Guardian journalists are there, I still have my account, and if you message me there at @AndrewSparrow, I will see it and respond if necessary.

I find it very helpful when readers point out mistakes, even minor typos. No error is too small to correct. And I find your questions very interesting too. I can’t promise to reply to them all, but I will try to reply to as many as I can, either BTL or sometimes in the blog.

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UK News

Driver killed in Bedford train crash named

Published

1 month ago

June 21, 2026

info@oxinfo.co.uk

The family of Shaun Burton, say they are “devastated” by the loss.

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UK News

Spain v Saudi Arabia: World Cup 2026 – live | World Cup 2026

Published

2 months ago

June 21, 2026

info@oxinfo.co.uk

Key events

In the opening half an hour against Cape Verde, Mikel Oyarzabal, the centre-forward, did not get a single touch.

Oyarzabal profile

Kyle Green gets in touch: “Your highlighting of Lalas and his absurdity is something that has prevented me from wanting to watch the coverage on Fox. While every channel has its pros and cons I just can’t.

“I’m 45 and probably the youngest of anyone who remembers him as a player instead of an opinionated insert insult here. As for the match this could be more competitive than it looks on paper Spain need a win the pressure is on them. Saudi Arabia could hold out for a draw and see what happens in their last match. “

News from the England camp, and it seems to be good news on Declan Rice.

“I’m ready and fit, raring to go. I was feeling a little bit of neural pain in my hamstring, which I was managing from after Christmas with Arsenal for a very long time. Obviously, not a lot of people would have known that. It was all behind-the-scenes stuff but it was a smart decision.

“In the end, that last 20 minutes is probably where you pick up the most, and it’s where you play a 70-minute match. But that last 20 is where you really feel your body going for it. And I think it was a smart decision because the last few days I felt really, really good.”

Alex Reid has penned today’s weekend special Football Daily.

Portugal v Uzbekistan on Tuesday enticingly pits the incredibly nice, incredibly 41-year-old-superstar-tolerant Roberto Martínez against Fabio Cannavaro, who’s won a Ballon d’Or as a player and the Chinese Super League as a coach. While the fixture following that game really does see the dream of Thomas Tuchel – in his first international job with England – taking on Queiroz, who is in charge of his ninth national side with Ghana.

The expected formations are 4-2-3-1 for Spain, and 5-3-2 for the Saudi Arabians.

The Saudi team features two Donis changes: Ali Lajami, a defender, and Nasser Al Dawsari, a midfielder, are preferred to Mohammed Abu Al Shamat and Mohamed Kanno. You may recall Salem Al Dawsari, the Saudi captain, as the man who scored the winner against Argentina.

An entertaining read, even for those of us who have just seen the clips.

In a conversation where his co-panelist is casually reminiscing about his days playing alongside Messi or exchanging shirts with Ronaldo Nazário at the World Cup, what exactly is Lalas going to talk about – coming on as a second-half substitute for Earnie Stewart in a friendly against Scotland in 1998? Helping the Kansas City Wizards finish last in the 1999 MLS Western Conference? Did Lalas enjoy an elite playing career? No. But does he do the background reading that could compensate for his relative lack of standing in a conversation with titans like Henry and Zlatan? Also no. But is he charming or funny or charismatic or otherwise magnetic on screen? Eh, no.

For the record, I once interviewed Alexi Lalas on the challenge of playing against Romario in the 1994 World Cup. He had this to say:

“He could kill you in so many different ways. If you remember from that World Cup, he scored so many types of goals. That ranged from solo adventures to an outside-of-the-right-foot half-volley off a corner kick. Romario was both the most difficult to play against and the best that I have faced.

“Roberto Baggio was doing his thing, but in terms of consistency and living up to the hype, he [Romario] was the best. As with all stars, there was a moment when the fans sit up in their seats, and that was a feeling I got with Romario. When it got close to him and the potential for his involvement in a play was there, everybody sat up in their seat. They knew that something spectacular would be happening.”

Saturday’s match reports here.

The Saudi Arabia coach, and Blackburn legend, Georgios Donis, spoke about the challenges facing his team: “Spain is not the same ⁠team when Yamal or Williams are on the bench.

“While they still have plenty of possession, they lack the individual one-on-one penetration when these two are ⁠missing. I’m not saying it’s a problem for Spain, but when those players are missing, they play in a different way. We saw this very clearly against ‌Cape Verde.

“We are playing against one of the best teams in the world, and it’s very important that when you play against these kinds of teams, you ‌should enjoy the experience and respect the opponent, but not too much.

“It is very hard for any team playing against Spain to have any time in possession. So what we must do is to be more in control of our movement and compact, and when the ball goes through the lines, be able to defend dynamically.

“It’s nice to see miracles in football, and we’ve seen favourites losing against underdogs. Of course, it’s great for Saudi football to have a great memory of the result against Argentina, but we aren’t drawing anything from that.

“I think we’ll feel more pressure in that [Cape Verde] game than we will against Spain.”

The Spain coach, Luis De La Fuente had this to say in his Saturday press conference: “This generation of footballers is highly competitive and really fired up… It’s going to be a completely different story,” he said at his pre-match press conference on Saturday. There is no drama or crisis. The bottom line is simply that we need to win tomorrow.”

Four changes for Spain: Lamine Yamal, Pedro Porro, Dani Olmo and Alex Baena also come into the side with Marcos Llorente, Fabian Ruiz, Ferran Torres and Gavi dropping out.

The teams – Lamine Yamal starts

Spain: Simon, Porro, Cubarsi, Laporte, Cucurella, Gonzalez, Rodri, Yamal, Olmo, Baena, Oyarzabal. Subs: Raya, Joan Garcia, Pubill, Grimaldo, Eric Garcia, Llorente, Merino, Torres, Fabian, Gavi, Pino, Williams, Zubimendi, Munoz, Iglesias.

Saudi Arabia: Al Owais, Abdulhamid, Tambakti, Lajami, Al Amri, Al Harbi, Nasser Al Dawsari, Al Khaibari, Al Juwayr, Al Buraikan, Salem Al Dawsari. Subs: Al Aqidi, Al Kassar, Majrashi, Yahya, Al Shehri, Al Boushal, Kadesh, Al Johani, Al Ghannam, Al Hajji, Al Hamdan, Mandash, Kanno, Thakri, Abu Al Shamat.

Referee: Raphael Claus (Brazil)

Perhaps one of the Saudi -players can write themselves into this high-grade selection?

Perhaps it can be their goalkeeper.

Al-Aqidi profile

Madrid screening of Spain v Saudi Arabia cancelled due to heat

The public screening of Spain’s World Cup match against Saudi Arabia in Madrid on Sunday has been cancelled because of extreme heat forecast for the Spanish capital, officials said.

The match, due to kick off at 6pm local time on Sunday, had been scheduled to be shown on a giant screen installed by the Spanish football federation (RFEF) at a fan zone in Plaza de Colón in central Madrid.

Madrid city council and the federation decided to cancel the screening after national weather agency AEMET issued an orange heat warning – the second-highest level – for the Madrid region, with temperatures forecast to reach 40C.

“The decision has been taken with the aim of protecting the health of attendees, event staff and support services involved in the event,” Madrid city hall said in a statement, apologising for any inconvenience.

Officials urged supporters to watch the match indoors in air-conditioned spaces and avoid prolonged exposure to the heat.

Large parts of Spain are experiencing unusually high temperatures for June as a mass of hot air from North Africa moves across the Iberian Peninsula.

A total of 13 of Spain’s 17 regions are on orange alert for heat on Sunday, while the northern Basque Country bordering France is on red alert, the highest level.

Authorities advised residents and visitors to take precautions during the heatwave, including drinking water regularly, staying in cool environments, limiting outdoor physical activity during the hottest hours of the day and taking extra care of vulnerable people. AFP

Can Saudi Arabia repeat the magic of 2022?

Argentina arrived in Qatar on a 36-game unbeaten run. When Lionel Messi opened the scoring from the penalty spot after 10 minutes, a comfortable afternoon seemed in the offing. Saleh al-Shehri and Salem al-Dawsari had other ideas, Argentina had three goals disallowed for offside in the space of 13 minutes and the greatest comeback in Saudi Arabia football history was made. Argentina went on to lift the trophy, while defeats to Poland and Mexico meant the Saudis did not reach the knock-out stage.

Unai Simon over David Raya is a controversial choice for De la Fuentes. The Arsenal keeper could lay claim to being Europe’s best this season.

“Those at the Champions League final had a few more days, so I got there on the Wednesday night,” Raya says. “I arrived a bit before Fabián [Ruiz]. I was saying hello to some of the others in reception when he arrived. I went to say congratulations; that was almost the first thing I did. I couldn’t really talk [to him] after the final; I just didn’t have it in me. The next day we talked about the game properly. Just two mates chatting … I was happy for him that he could lift the trophy for a second time.”

A high pressure game for the European champions, as Sid Lowe reports.

“If we had scored one, the game would have changed,” Martín Zubimendi said. Immediately after the game, De la Fuente had offered a simple analysis: when the ball doesn’t want to go in it doesn’t want to go in, he insisted. Spain had racked up 27 shots, after all. Ferran Torres had hit the bar and seen another clear opportunity saved. Vozinha, the 40-year-old goalkeeper who stopped that, saved six more and was named the man of the match. “There’s nothing to reproach the team for,” Rodri said. “We generated chances but couldn’t put it away; the good thing is they created almost nothing.”

We wait to see what role Lamine Yamal will play today. His coach would surely like to be able to use him.

The worst mistake we could make would be to compare him to anyone. He is the midst of a process. He has exceptional footballing maturity and lives it all with total naturalness. He has great serenity and strength. We have to let him follow his path but those players who have something different are ready for that. They’re geniuses, like Dalí [who] can paint a picture, or Michelangelo. They’re different. What is exceptional to us, isn’t to them. In those extremes, they feel comfortable. Why? Because they are different. What we think is exceptional, they consider normal.

Lamine Yamal profile

Preamble

Spain’s campaign did not get off to a flying start, and Luis de la Fuentes may wake up in the night to visions of Cape Verde’s Vozinha. He will have Georgia on his mind ever since Monday. Saudi Arabia are no pushovers and gave Uruguay a scare in their opening match. Memories of downing Argentina four years ago still abound, and so Spain might beware. They can ill afford to go into the final game with Uruguay at a disadvantage. All eyes on Lamine Yamal, whose fitness situation remains opaque, though Spain need their other forwards to come to the party.

Kick-off 5pm UK, 1pm ET, 2am AEST. Join me.

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