Iran cannot ‘hijack’ strait of Hormuz with shipping tolls, says Yvette Cooper – UK politics live

As Keir Starmer continues his Gulf visit, foreign secretary says laws of the sea prevent Tehran from charging for passage of ‘international transit route’

Keir Starmer met Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia, yesterday. Unlike, say, Donald Trump, MBS (as he is sometimes called) is not a man for press conferences. But No 10 did release a readout of the talks afterwards. It says Starmer declared Saudi Arabia to be a “steadfast ally”.

For the record, here is the full readout. A No 10 spokesperson said:

The prime minister began by welcoming the ceasefire and set out how efforts must now be focused on upholding it and turning it into a lasting peace.

He was clear that it was vital now to continue work to reopen the strait of Hormuz, and discussed the UK’s ongoing efforts to convene partners to agree and plan the practical steps required to give shipping the confidence to transit the strait.

I’m deeply troubled about the escalating attacks that we saw from Israel in Lebanon yesterday. We’ve seen the humanitarian consequences, the huge mass displacement of people in Lebanon.