Good morning. It is the last week the Commons is sitting before the Easter recess and, in normal circumstances, we would be focusing on domestic policy, and announcements coming out before the holiday period. But today, with the world focused on what will happen if Iran does not comply with the “deadline” set by Donald Trump for the opening of the strait of Hormuz tonight (he says he will “obliterate” Iran’s power plants if he does not get his way), foreign policy will dominate.

Starmer has two important meetings on the topic this afternoon. One of them will be live on TV, but unfortunately it will be the duller and less consequential one – his meetinng with the Commons liaison committee. After that he will chair a meeting of the government’s Cobra emergency committee, where the government will be taking decisions about how it will respond to the possibility that the energy price crisis could get significantly worse. In a sign of how serious the economic consequences could get, Andrew Bailey, governor of the Bank of England, is attending.

Ultimately, what happens in the UK will largely be determined by what happens in Washington, and whether Trump decides to escalate or de-escalate, and, frankly, that is anyone’s guess. He implies one thing at one moment, and something completely different at another point. His defenders say he’s a brilliant exponent of the madman theory of diplomacy; the alternative view is that he is just mad.

Starmer actually spoke to him last night, and this is what a No 10 spokesperson said about the call after it was over.

The prime minister spoke to the president of the United States, Donald Trump, this evening.

The leaders discussed the current situation in the Middle East, and in particular, the need to reopen the strait of Hormuz to resume global shipping.

They agreed that reopening the strait of Hormuz was essential to ensure stability in the global energy market.

They agreed to speak again soon.

Starmer has worked had to establish a cordial relationship with Trump. In line with almost every PM since the second world war, he has worked on the basis that being polite in public allows the UK to exercise influence on the administration in private. But Starmer spoke to Trump last night only hours after the president posted a clip on his Truth Social account of a sketch from Saturday Night Live UK brutally mocking the prime minister as someone scared of him. (You can watch it here, although I wouldn’t bother because, as comedy, it’s abysmal.)

And Starmer does not seem to be exerting much influence. The No 10 readout suggests that Starmer and Trump did not decide anything substantive; saying they agreeed that “reopening the Strait of Hormuz was essential to ensure stability in the global energy market” is a bit like saying they agreed that night followed day.

But No 10 says the call was “constructive”. They say it lasted about 20 minutes.

Here is the agenda for the day.

Morning: Keir Starmer is on a visit in London where he will speak to broadcasters.

11.30am: Downing Street holds a lobby briefing.

2.30pm: Starmer gives evidence to the Commons liaision committee.

2.30pm: Shabana Mahmood, the home secretary, takes questions in the Commons.

After 3.30pm: John Healey, the defence secretary, is expected to give a Commons statement on the war in Iran.

Afternoon: Kemi Badenoch is on a visit in the east of England.

Afternoon: Starmer chairs a Cobra meeting

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