Speaking during a press conference on the situation in the Middle East this morning, Sir Keir Starmer said the government will “clamp down” on heating oil providers that are “ripping off” customers by cancelling orders and charging them higher prices.

It comes as households in Norfolk and Suffolk say their heating oil has doubled in price since the start of the Middle East conflict.

Customers say the price of their heating oil has doubled since the start of the conflict

Suppliers are now to be investigated by the competition watchdog, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), after concerns they are profiteering from the conflict.

Companies such as Norfolk-based Goff Petroleum are experiencing soaring global fuel prices and supply shortages caused by the US-Israel war with Iran and the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which normally carries about a fifth of the world’s oil exports.

The prime minister said that “ending war is the quickest way to reduce the cost of living”.

Around 1.5 million homes in the UK are heated using oil, mostly in rural areas.

Unlike mains gas and electricity customers, people who rely on heating oil are not protected by the energy price cap. Sir Keir said this will continue until the end of June, saving the average household £170.

This, he said on Monday, is in addition to the £150 warm homes discount for the most vulnerable.

Meanwhile, he also said petrol stations will be forced to publish their live prices, to make savings easier for drivers.

UK petrol and diesel prices since start of the Middle East conflict (Image: PA Wire)

“We’re not ruling anything out but it’s very difficult to say at this juncture what the position will be in July, when the current energy price cap runs out, or in September,” he said.

“My instinct is always to help working people in a situation like this," he added.

The Liz Truss government installed a £40 billion energy price cap, which protected all households in 2022 when prices surged following the war in Ukraine.

© Norwich Evening News