STARMER WARNS FUEL COMPANIES: GOVERNMENT WILL STEP IN IF CUSTOMERS GET RIPPED OFF 💥

That’s all from us on the UK politics live blog, thanks for following along.

Here is a recap of today’s developments:

• Prime minister Keir Starmer said the government “will step in” if fuel companies “try to rip off customers”. He issued the statement ahead of a Downing Street meeting between chancellor Rachel Reeves and petrol retailers to warn against profiteering amid the Iran war.

• The Petrol Retailers Association criticised the “inflammatory language” from ministers, saying it had led to retail staff being abused by the public. The group initially said it had pulled out of the meeting with Reeves over the issue but then backtracked on that statement about an hour later.

• While we wait to see what was discussed at that meeting, Reeves has asked the competition watchdog, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), to “crack down” on “rip off” fuel prices. She said she “will not tolerate” any company exploiting the Middle East crisis “to make excess profits at customers’ expense”.

• Starmer has once again put himself at odds with Donald Trump after the UK government said it will not follow the US president in temporarily waiving sanctions on Russian oil. Downing Street said Britain and its partners should maintain collective pressure on Russia through sanctions as it is the best way to bring an end to the war in Ukraine.

• RAF Typhoon jets have extended their action to protect Bahrain, as they patrol the skies for Iranian drones. Downing Street said UK jets flew air defence sorties “specifically in defence of Bahrain for the first time”.

• Starmer was in Cork in the Republic of Ireland for the UK-Ireland summit, where he has been speaking about the conflict in the Middle East. Starmer and taoiseach Micheál Martin released a joint statement with a list of agreed actions in the areas of “shared prosperity, shared seas and shared ties”.

• Also today, the Conservative party has continued to accuse the government of a “cover-up” over the release of files relating to Peter Mandelson becoming US ambassador. Shadow housing secretary James Cleverly said the government published the “wrong versions of the documents”, while shadow Cabinet Office minister Alex Burghart suggested there was “missing” correspondence in the published material.

• Energy minister Michael Shanks rejected the accusations, saying the government has complied fully with the demand of MPs and would be publishing further documents in due course.

• The absence of comments from the prime minister in the first tranche of the Mandelson files does not mean “advice was not read or considered”, Downing Street said. Starmer’s official spokesman reiterated that the prime minister and his team respond to advice in a “range of different ways”.

• A photo has emerged showing Mandelson, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Jeffrey Epstein pictured together for the first time. The photo, released as part of the Epstein files in January, shows Mountbatten-Windsor and Mandelson dressed in what appears to be white bathrobes sitting around a table with convicted sex offender Epstein.

We have photos from the Press Association news agency of the floral tributes on the graves of victims of the 1996 Dunblane massacre. Sixteen children and their teacher, Gwen Mayor, were killed when a man walked into the gymnasium at Dunblane primary school and opened fire on a class of five- and six-year-olds. Thirty years on, Dunblane remains the UK’s deadliest mass shooting.

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Here is a photo of Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch and shadow housing secretary James Cleverly posing outside an estate agents rebranded as “Kemi & Co” in Great Dunmow in Essex.

They were speaking about scrapping stamp duty during the visit.

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The Ministry of Defence (MoD) said the UK and Ireland have signed an updated memorandum of understanding to strengthen cooperation on defence, saying both countries “will be better protected against common threats”.

In a statement, the MoD quoted defence secretary John Healey as saying:

This rebooted memorandum of understanding modernises our framework for cooperation on areas critical to both our nations’ security, in particular to counter the growing undersea and cyber threats we share.

Irish defence minister Helen McEntee said:

It is appropriate that, after ten years, we take the opportunity to refresh our memorandum of understanding and provide for a particular focus in such areas as maritime, cyber defence, air information sharing and joint procurement initiatives.

There will also be a continued focus on the already existing defence cooperation arrangements between Ireland and the UK on a more formal and transparent footing.

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Prime minister Keir Starmer has been in Cork in the Republic of Ireland for the UK-Ireland summit, where he has been speaking about the conflict in the Middle East.

Starmer and taoiseach Micheál Martin released a joint statement with a list of agreed actions in the areas of “shared prosperity, shared seas and shared ties”.

It also outlines co-operation on research in areas including quantum technology and 6G, emergency preparedness and opportunities around offshore energy infrastructure.

The PA news agency has reported that the Petrol Retailers Association (PRA) will attend the meeting with chancellor Rachel Reeves today, shortly after it said it had withdrawn earlier this afternoon.

The PRA has deleted a series of posts on X in which it said it had pulled out over concerns that “inflammatory language” from ministers had led to retail staff being abused by the public.

Meanwhile, a photo has emerged showing Peter Mandelson, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Jeffrey Epstein pictured together for the first time.

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The photo, released as part of the Epstein files, shows Mountbatten-Windsor and Mandelson dressed in what appears to be white bathrobes sitting around a table with convicted sex offender Epstein.

The photo, first uncovered by ITV News, is believed to have been taken in Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, sometime between 1999 and 2000, the broadcaster reported. Epstein pleaded guilty to prostitution charges, including soliciting an underage girl, in 2008.

It comes as Mandelson and Mountbatten-Windsor face increasing pressure over their relationship with the disgraced financier, who died in prison in 2019. Mandelson was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office on 23 February and since released on bail. He has denied all wrongdoing.

The US justice department released more than 3m files related to its investigation into Epstein on 30 January, including over 2,000 videos and 180,000 images. The sheer volume of documents means new information is still being discovered.

Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office on 19 February. He has denied all wrongdoing.

Moments after the Petrol Retailers Association said it has pulled out of a meeting with chancellor Rachel Reeves and energy secretary Ed Miliband, Keir Starmer issued a statement saying the government “will step in” if fuel companies “try to rip off customers”.

In a short statement posted on X, he said:

If fuel companies try to rip off customers, my government will step in.

Rachel Reeves and Ed Miliband are bringing the bosses of the fuel companies in today, to make sure that customers aren’t losing out because of the conflict in the Middle East.

The Petrol Retailers Association (PRA) said it has withdrawn from a meeting with chancellor Rachel Reeves in Downing Street today over “concerns that inflammatory language by government ministers was leading to incidents of retail staff being abused by members of the public”.

It comes as Reeves asked the competition watchdog to “crack down” on “rip-off” fuel prices ahead of a meeting with energy bosses to warn against profiteering amid the Iran war.

The PRA was due to meet with Reeves today at Downing Street.

The chancellor insisted she “will not tolerate” firms exploiting uncertainty in the Middle East for excess financial gain as concerns grow over its impact on the cost of living.

The government has already promised to intervene if companies engage in “unfair” practices that would hit customers facing a rise in the price of home heating oil, which is not covered by Ofgem’s energy price cap.

The first minister of Wales has spoken to Keir Starmer about his comments on devolution contained within a leaked memo, the Press Association reports.

In the memo, which was sent in December to senior Cabinet colleagues, the prime minister tells them to resist opposition from devolved governments.

The memo had been obtained by Plaid Cymru and earlier this week its leader Rhun ap Iorwerth accused the prime minister of treating Wales with “contempt”.

Eluned Morgan told members of the Senedd’s Committee for the Scrutiny of the First Minister that Starmer was referring to reserved areas of UK Government policy, such as home affairs and defence, rather than devolved matters like health and education.

“I read the memo on Tuesday, and I was able to speak to the Prime Minister on Wednesday to get clarification on what he meant within that letter,” she told MSs.

“He made it clear to me that when he was talking about direct delivery in the nations, he was talking about issues reserved to the responsibilities of the UK government.

“That was something, and if you read the letter carefully, it doesn’t say in devolved areas.

“If you think about what the reserved areas are – pensions, benefits, home affairs, immigration, foreign affairs – those kind of areas.”

The absence of comments from the prime minister in files relating to Peter Mandelson becoming US ambassador does not mean “advice was not read or considered”, Downing Street has said.

The Tories have written to standards watchdog Laurie Magnus suggesting there was “missing” correspondence in the published material – accusing the government of a “cover-up”.

But the prime minister’s official spokesman reiterated that Starmer and his team respond to advice in a “range of different ways”.

He said:

The absence of comments in a particular box doesn’t mean the advice wasn’t read or considered.

There’s a range of different ways in which the prime minister and his senior team responds to advice throughout the day.

The spokesman would not be drawn on whether private emails or WhatsApp messages would be part of future releases.

Keir Starmer said RAF Typhoon jets have extended their action to protect Bahrain, as they patrol the skies for Iranian drones.

The prime minister said people are “really worried” about the impact of the US-Israeli war on Iran and “want to see us doing all we can to de-escalate”.

It comes as Iran has stepped up retaliatory attacks on oil and transport facilities in Bahrain as well as in Oman and Iraq.

Speaking alongside taoiseach Micheál Martin during the UK-Ireland summit in Cork, Starmer said: “Last night, RAF Typhoons extended their action to Bahrain.”

He said 67,000 Britons have now returned home from the Middle East, and that some that were stranded in Bahrain, where airspace remains closed, have made the journey overland to leave the region via Saudi Arabia.

In a separate statement, Starmer’s spokesperson said RAF jets have been patrolling the skies over Bahrain for Iranian drones.

“Overnight, UK jets flew air defence sorties specifically in defence of Bahrain for the first time,” the spokesperson said.

“This saw Typhoon jets patrolling the skies for Iranian drones heading towards Bahrain.

“British Typhoon and F35 jets are now flying in defence of British people, bases and our partners, moving in Qatar, Cyprus, UAE, Jordan and Bahrain.”