Evening Briefing: Tuesday 14 July 2026
- Petrol & Energy: Oil eased back below $85 a barrel today after Trump dropped his 20% Hormuz toll, taking some of the immediate heat out of pump prices. But with the war and a blockade of Iranian ships continuing, the risk of fresh spikes has not gone away.
- A New Prime Minister Next Week: Andy Burnham addressed his MPs today as prime minister-in-waiting, with speculation swirling over his cabinet — Ed Miliband is tipped as chancellor and Rachel Reeves’s future is in doubt. Those choices, from 20 July, will shape the economy.
- Heat, Fire & Water: The heatwave — now linked to an estimated 2,700 excess deaths this summer — holds into Wednesday, with major wildfire incidents and hosepipe bans spreading. Keep away from open water, ditch disposable barbecues, and save water.
Trump Drops the Hormuz Toll but Keeps a Blockade on Iran
President Trump reversed course on Tuesday, scrapping the 20% toll on Strait of Hormuz shipping he had announced only a day earlier, after it drew near-universal rejection — from the UN’s maritime body, which said there was no legal basis…
Oil Eases Off Its One-Month High as the Toll Is Scrapped
Oil pulled back from a one-month high after Trump dropped the Hormuz toll, with Brent crude easing to around $84 a barrel having touched almost $86 earlier in the day. The market had jumped nearly 10% on Monday on the blockade and toll thr…
Britain Joins Ukraine and Europe in a Missile-Defence Coalition
Ukraine and nine European countries, including Britain, France and Germany, have announced a coalition to build a shared, integrated missile-defence capability against the ballistic weapons Russia fires in ever greater numbers. The pact, u…
Wildfires Spread Across Europe as Fontainebleau Is Evacuated
A wildfire tore through the historic Fontainebleau forest south of Paris, forcing evacuations and disrupting road and rail as it spread across more than 1,300 hectares, in France’s third heatwave in three months. In Spain, ten people were…
EU Rallies $1bn for Gaza’s Recovery
The European Union has launched a fund of around a billion dollars to help rebuild Gaza after more than two years of war, rallying donors including Britain, France, Germany, Japan and the World Bank behind a “Team Gaza” initiative. The mon…
Burnham Addresses His MPs as Cabinet Jockeying Begins
Andy Burnham addressed the parliamentary Labour party today for the first time as prime minister-in-waiting, telling MPs his cabinet would reflect “a broad church of ideas”. With his path to Downing Street secured, the jockeying for jobs h…
Heatwave Linked to 2,700 Excess Deaths as Fires Spread
This summer’s heatwaves are estimated to have caused more than 2,700 excess deaths in England and Wales across May and June, according to a study by scientists at Imperial College, the Met Office and the London School of Hygiene and Tropic…
Fourteen Labour MPs Defy the Whip on the Immigration Bill
The 14 Labour MPs who voted against the government’s immigration Bill at its second reading last night have been named, among them the veteran left-wingers John McDonnell and Rebecca Long Bailey. Diane Abbott, who still sits without the La…
South West Water Imposes a New Hosepipe Ban
South West Water became the latest company to restrict supply, imposing a hosepipe ban across parts of Devon from midday today as the drought deepens, after demand ran millions of litres a day above normal through two heatwaves in three we…
Petrol Pressure Eases as Trump Drops the Hormuz Toll
The immediate threat of another jump at the pumps eased today after Trump abandoned his 20% Hormuz toll and oil slipped back below $85 a barrel. This morning’s warning that a fresh spike was coming has, for now, softened. But British drive…