| Unlock full access to our free-thinking journalism for less than 50p per week. | | The Prime Minister discussed measures to support households with industry leaders, including incoming BP chief Meg O’Neill (left) | Sir Keir Starmer summoned bosses from the energy, shipping and banking sectors to Downing Street, seeking a “joint effort” to combat soaring prices.
Following Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, oil prices have surged to around $114 a barrel, threatening a severe crisis in energy, petrol and food costs.
Admitting that the Government could not tackle this fallout “on its own”, the Prime Minister urged industry leaders to help protect British households as he scrambled to finalise a “viable plan”.
Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund is warning that the UK is “especially exposed” to higher oil and gas prices, and compared the crisis to a “large sudden tax on income” for a family.
Continue reading ➤
In Bangladesh, fuel reserves are already dwindling as the country deals with the fallout from the blockade. Joe Barnes reports. .png.thumb.319.319.1657195012000.png) | Joe Barnes | | Drivers in Dhaka, Bangladesh, wait for hours at petrol stations to fill up | As Donald Trump’s war in Iran continues, dozens of countries have been left grappling with the prospect of oil and gas shortages. However, nowhere does it seem to be worse than in Bangladesh.
Internal reports suggest the country has between 10 and 21 days of fuel reserves.
A source told us that this has caused panic within the government as officials and ministers try to find a plan to tackle depletion.
They’ll be hoping that the experts are right and enough shipments make it through the blockaded Strait of Hormuz, or come from elsewhere, to keep them afloat.
As a result of Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, India’s industrial output has slowed. At the same time, the Philippines, Australia and New Zealand are rationing dwindling fuel supplies, while South Korea is considering limits on public consumption.
In some cases, it has forced countries to open talks with China for fuel imports, with Beijing leveraging the crisis.
Continue reading ➤
As a growing number of countries around the world take steps to ease prices, secure supplies or cut demand, Britain has increasingly become an outlier.
The Starmer Government is yet to follow the example of other countries in announcing measures to deal with the crisis.
In recent days, governments in Asia have cut fuel taxes, rationed supplies, scrambled for more barrels or encouraged people to drive less. Closer to home, France, Spain and other European nations have also lowered their fuel levies or subsidised users.
Hans van Leeuwen, our International Economics Editor, asks: Why not Britain too?
Read Hans’s full analysis here ➤
Go deeper with our full coverage of the Iran war:
• Iran recruits 12-year-olds to ‘defend homeland’ ➤
• Trump: I’ll obliterate Iran and walk away from Strait of Hormuz ➤
• Police and medics may get priority at petrol pumps ➤
• Follow the latest on the conflict here ➤ | | Charles Moore I researched the problem of our out-of-date road-repair methods – and found a new technology with the potential to make a huge difference Continue reading ➤ Stephen Pollard The iron law that explains the BBC’s latest act of self-sabotage Continue reading ➤ Hamish de Bretton-Gordon There’s just one rule of Special Forces fight club, and Trump has broken it Continue reading ➤ | | To make sure you don’t miss our newsletters when they land in your inbox, click here. | | Edward Goldsmith (left) was dubbed ‘Godfather of Green’, while his brother James might be called the ‘Godfather of Brexit’ | | One is criticised for being too Right-wing, the other for being the new home of the “Loony Left”. Surprisingly though, Nigel Farage’s Reform party and Zack Polanski’s Greens trace their origins back to the same family: the Goldsmiths. While businessman James founded the Referendum Party to campaign for a referendum on Britain’s membership of the EU, his brother, Edward, set up The Ecologist magazine and was a pioneer of the Green movement. Michael Crick, the veteran journalist, tells their story. Continue reading ➤ | |  | | Joanna Lumley shared her beauty secrets with The Telegraph | | She may be approaching her 80th birthday, but actress Joanna Lumley is busier than ever, filming the comedy series Wednesday for Netflix and reprising the role of the outrageously glamorous grandmother in Amandaland. In this interview, Lumley shares her secrets to looking youthful, including her fuss-free skincare routine and why she’ll always insist on cutting her own hair. Continue reading ➤ | | | | | The number of Channel migrant crossings stopped by the French has fallen to its lowest on record this year, a Telegraph analysis of official data shows. Home Office figures show that the proportion of migrants prevented from crossing stood at just 33.1 per cent in the first three months of this year.
It comes as negotiations over a new £650mn Anglo-French deal to stop the boats go to the wire. Shabana Mahmood, the Home Secretary, is demanding that any funding should be linked to the French hitting higher interception targets and providing daily reports on operations to stop the crossings. Continue reading ➤ | | | | | It’s hard to make it past the third date without my dislike of dogs coming up, says Noah Gabriel Martin | | Honesty is the best policy when dating, but there is one truth I’ve learnt to withhold for as long as I can: I can’t stand dogs, writes Noah Gabriel Martin. In London’s pet-obsessed dating scene, a canine aversion is the ultimate dealbreaker. No matter how hard I try, escaping “fur babies” is impossible, especially when off-lead beasts sniff my M&S artichoke hearts during romantic picnics. Continue reading ➤ | | | Many British villages, while undoubtedly pretty, have lost their most distinctive qualities, with shops and pubs closing, decisions taken miles away in district council offices, and little offered in the way of festivities. French villages have not, writes Anthony Peregrine, which is why they’re so wonderful. Join him for a tour of the past and present of the Languedoc community he calls home. Continue reading ➤ | | | In the latest episode of the long-running car finance saga, millions of people are in line to receive an average payout of £830, under the Financial Conduct Authority’s compensation plans. Our guide explains who is eligible, and how to get your share. Continue reading ➤ Below are two more articles that I hope will improve your day: - When Samantha Priestley’s Edwardian home sprouted severe damp, she feared she would have to move. However, she then tried “lüften”, a free German ventilation trick championed by Kirstie Allsopp. Read how she got on here.
- In today’s Questor, The Telegraph’s investing column, learn the simple number that makes an investment worthwhile.
| Newcastle Every week, one of our writers argues that their hometown is the best in Britain – but will their case convince you? This week Gordon Rayner argues why Newcastle, despite a few rough edges, deserves the top spot.  | Gordon Rayner Associate Editor | A peculiar thing happened to me in my first week at university. I came across people who had nothing good to say about their hometowns, most of which were anonymous satellites of London. Until then, it had never occurred to me that anyone would be anything but proud of the place they came from, but I’m lucky. I’m from Newcastle.
Few cities in the country imbue their sons and daughters with such a strong sense of regional identity. It’s partly because Newcastle is so far from anywhere else (my new, southern university friends were incredulous to find out Newcastle is 150 miles by road from the “northern” cities of Manchester and Liverpool), partly the accent and dialect, and partly the logic-defying fervour for the city’s only professional football team, Newcastle United, that unites Geordies of every age and background. It’s not just a place, it’s a mindset. The city isn’t without its faults. I’m not sure I had ever actually seen the sun until the legendary summer of 1976, so impenetrable is the grey blanket that sits over the region even when the rest of the country is sunbathing. It’s cold. It’s a post-industrial town lacking well-paid jobs (which is why I left). Some of its estates are no-go areas. However, as a child growing up in the 1970s and 80s, it was everything, and it had everything.
Shopping at Fenwicks; the pubs of the Bigg Market and the Quayside; the Sunday market under the Tyne Bridge; the Town Moor for horse rides, sledging and the Hoppings fun fair; the beaches and castles of the Northumberland coast; the petting zoo at Saltwell Park; the tranquility of Jesmond Dene; walking along Hadrian’s Wall. I could go on and on. | Gordon pictured as a young child in Newcastle | It’s not a huge city, so everything is within easy reach. Everything is, in fact, local. It’s also a place where people still know their neighbours, where strangers chat to each other at bus stops, and where visitors get a warm welcome just for having made the effort of getting there. I’ve sometimes tried to imagine what it must be like to be from somewhere else, but I can’t. You can leave Newcastle, but Newcastle never leaves you – it’s always there, waiting to welcome you home.
What do you think of Newcastle? Let us know here. | Give me a brake! Every weekday, Orlando Bird, our loyal reader correspondent, shares an off-piste topic that has brought out the best of your opinions and stories. Orlando writes...
Have you ever been sent on a speed awareness course? I’ve so far managed to avoid this minor indignity (my ingenious secret being that I very rarely drive) but William Sitwell recently revealed that he was now a veteran attendee, and not much the wiser for it. “They make me drive faster,” read the headline for his article – which, it’s fair to say, drew a mixed response.
Several readers defended the courses. “The one I took years ago made me understand the dangers of speeding,” wrote Jim Howell. “I have never forgotten a phrase used by the instructor: ‘It’s a limit, not a target’. This has helped me to be a slower and safer driver.”
Frances Gilbert added: “I have done three courses and found them to be informative and useful. More people should do them voluntarily, especially the idiots I see jumping red lights or honking at others and trying to tell them what to do.”
Kate Anderson couldn’t help detecting an irony here: “That Frances Gilbert has had to do three speed awareness courses calls their usefulness into question.”
Philip Brennan took a very different view: “Speeding does not kill; it would be more accurate (and useful) to say that it is a major factor in serious accidents, alongside inattention, lack of skill and judgment, and so on. It can also be preventative: I for one don’t regard it as an offence to speed clear of someone driving at a robotic cruise-controlled 65 mph in the middle lane of a motorway, clearly with no idea of what’s happening around them.”
Still, I suspect impeccable pragmatism isn’t the explanation for most offences. Martin Coomber referred to another cause: “Some years ago, a friend of mine was required to go on a speed awareness course. At the end, the instructor took my friend to one side and said: ‘You need to go on an anger management course’.” Are you heavy on the pedal? Send your responses here, and the best will feature in a future edition of From the Editor PM, to which you can sign up here.
Please confirm in your reply that you are happy to be featured and that we have your permission to use your name. | | Find as many words as you can in today’s Panagram, including the nine-letter solution. Visit Telegraph Puzzles to play a range of head-scratching games, including PlusWord, Sorted, and Quick, Mini or Cryptic Crosswords.
Yesterday’s Panagram was MODERNITY. Come back tomorrow for the solution to today’s puzzle.
P.S. Yesterday we gave the incorrect solution to Sunday’s Panagram. The correct answer was MORTGAGEE. We apologise for this error. | | Thank you for reading. Have a fulfilling day and I hope to see you tomorrow. Chris Evans, Editor
P.S. I’d love to hear what you think of this newsletter. You can email me your feedback here. | |
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