Starmer to face grilling from senior MPs today
Sir Keir Starmer will be questioned by senior MPs on Tuesday amid turmoil in global markets caused by US tariffs, which Donald Trump has insisted he will not pause.
The Prime Minister is expected to hold a Cabinet meeting of his most senior ministers in Downing Street on Tuesday morning, before he heads to Parliament, where he will appear before the Liaison Committee of senior parliamentarians on the last day the Commons sits before it heads into the Easter recess.
The global impact of Mr Trump’s tariffs is likely to be on the agenda for the committee, where Sir Keir may also be questioned about the war in Ukraine, conflict in the Middle East, and the US president’s announcement that America will hold direct talks with Iran about its nuclear programme.
As he spoke to reporters in the Oval Office on Monday, Mr Trump indicated he was not open to the idea of pausing tariffs to allow for negotiations with other countries.
The UK is among the nations arguing its case for a carve out from the trade tax on goods going into the US.
The President has imposed a 10% tariff on US imports of British goods, along with the 25% tariff on cars and separate import taxes for steel and aluminium.