PEOPLE in the UK could face higher energy, food and flight ticket prices for at least eight months after the end of the US-Israel war with Iran, a senior minister said.
Darren Jones, chief secretary to the prime minister, told the BBC the government was “looking at all of those things” as it prepares for possible food and fuel shortages linked to the conflict.
Disruption to energy production and transport in the Middle East has led to supply chain issues and rising prices globally.
Officials have drawn up a worst-case scenario of food shortages by summer, including chicken and pork, if the war continues. The government has urged people to continue normal fuel use and travel amid concerns about jet fuel supplies.
Speaking on BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, Jones said he was monitoring the economic impact “very closely” and added that “price pressure” was more likely than shortages.
“Our best guess is eight-plus months from the point of resolution that you'll see economic impacts coming through the system,” he said. “So people will see higher energy prices, food prices [...] flight ticket prices as a consequence of what Donald Trump has done in the Middle East.”
Prime minister Keir Starmer will chair a Cabinet committee meeting on Tuesday, while ministers are meeting twice a week to monitor supplies, the BBC reported. Jones said: “This is not our war… We're acting now to prepare for, and mitigate where possible, the impact on our economy and domestic security.”
The IMF has cut the UK growth forecast to 0.8 per cent. Supermarkets and farmers have warned of rising prices, while airlines said they are not seeing jet fuel shortages.
