Chancellor Rachel Reeves has condemned the 'folly' of Donald Trump's decision to go to war against Iran without a clear exit plan, warning that the conflict is driving up oil prices and threatening inflation across the West.
Speaking ahead of a trip to Washington for the International Monetary Fund spring meeting, Reeves told the Mirror she was 'frustrated and angry' that the US entered the war without clear objectives. Her comments come after peace talks in Islamabad collapsed and the US imposed a blockade on Iranian ports in the Strait of Hormuz.
'This is a war that we did not start. It was a war that we did not want,' Reeves said. 'To start a conflict without being clear what the objectives are and not being clear about how you are going to get out of it, I do think that is a folly.'
The chancellor's remarks go further than previous public statements by her or Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who has insisted the UK will not be dragged into the conflict. The IMF has forecast that the UK will suffer the biggest economic impact of any G7 country, with GDP growth revised down to 0.8% from 1.3%.
Reeves has pledged to help poorer households with energy bills if they rise this summer and faces pressure to cancel a planned fuel duty increase in September. Starmer has set up a ministerial committee to discuss the war's impact and will attend a Paris summit this week on safeguarding shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
