00:00And Jono, it's actually been a fascinating time when it comes to how economies are reacting to this.
00:07We have seen in Sri Lanka, they've raised electricity prices by 40%.
00:12G7 countries have met to try to stem and put measures in place because of this crisis that is unfolding
00:21before them.
00:22We've also got the UK Defence Minister, John Healy.
00:25He's actually in the Middle East today.
00:27And the Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, is addressing business leaders.
00:32So it seems that lots of countries around the world are gathering to try and come up with a solution.
00:38What's been going on there?
00:39Well, look, I've seen even in the last couple of days some clips on social media of people who have
00:45been asked to point out where on the map is the Strait of Hormuz.
00:48And nine out of ten of them have no idea where it was.
00:50And I think certainly one month ago, it would have been less than any one out of ten would have
00:54known where the Strait of Hormuz is.
00:55And just how important it is has really come to fruition in the last couple of weeks.
01:00Now, as you mentioned, Leanne, from the UK, that government is trying to figure out how to manage things on
01:04two fronts, which is difficult.
01:06Security is the front from overseas and economic is the front from back at home.
01:09So on that overseas side and Defence Secretary John Healy, who's in the Middle East at the moment, he's speaking
01:15with Gulf allies about defensive support and what Britain can offer right now if it coordinates with its partners in
01:21the region.
01:22Which, again, and I said this last week, a little bit too late coming to the party now because a
01:26lot of the work has been started and has kind of been done.
01:29And it's kind of like what Donald Trump said, we don't necessarily need you guys now.
01:33London is deeply concerned and rightly so because it's not about the military situation itself.
01:38It's how quickly this conflict actually spilt across the Gulf and then subsequently across the entire globe.
01:44And the economic repercussions are being felt far and wide.
01:47And like you rightly said, Sri Lanka, Thailand, we're seeing flights being cancelled in Asian countries because there is no
01:52fuel.
01:52So back on the home front from the UK's point of view, Keir Starmer, he's there trying to focus on
01:57that domestic fallout.
01:59He's been meeting with business leaders, energy, shipping, financial, that kind of stuff.
02:03The Strait of Hormones is so important for oil and for other goods as well.
02:06And if that remains disrupted to the point where it is right now, this very quickly stops just being a
02:12foreign policy story.
02:13Then for the UK, it becomes something that hits where it hurts.
02:17Household bills, inflation, supply chain in Britain as well.
02:20And we'd mentioned before the show you saw over the weekend and some of the weekend politics shows of politicians
02:26saying,
02:26don't panic, don't stock buy, you don't need to do that.
02:29But the real concern is that within the next couple of weeks, if the strait is not opened, supply may
02:33be an issue
02:34because you're talking about an extra four to five weeks if they have to travel down by South Africa to
02:39travel to the UK.
02:40So Starmer's message right now is to understand the risk, to try and figure out what do we need to
02:46keep business informed about?
02:47What would be the knock-on effects if things get worse right now?
02:50And then that political dimension to it as well.
02:52The UK government is trying to project this calm, this competent, this preparedness element that they always try and do.
03:00They're being very British about it.
03:01That's the only way I can describe it.
03:02So there's a ministerial outreach, which we mentioned right now is happening in the Gulf states, in Saudi Arabia.
03:07The emergency COBRA planning meetings are happening.
03:09Military coordination with concern departments are happening.
03:13And then there's business engagement that's happening all at once.
03:16So the government believes that this is not a short, a distant crisis, which I think is what we all
03:20bought into this thinking it's going to be three or four days.
03:22Now they need a real strategy.
03:24They need a real economic consequences, preparedness measures for the UK.
03:28So I think the trip and the meeting, the whole lot combined, is telling the same basic response.
03:33The UK wants to reassure the allies abroad, which it didn't do at the start of this.
03:37It wants to reassure the markets back at home, which again it didn't do.
03:40And reassure the public at home, which it didn't think it needed to do at the start of this conflict.
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