5 top UK news stories today (5 March 2026)

Here’s your UK news roundup for Thursday (5 March 2026):

Mahmood to set out curbs on asylum seeker support

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood is set to detail new policy that will see asylum seekers who break the law, or work illegally, being thrown out of government-funded accommodation and losing their support payments. Mahmood is expected to make the “Labour case” for restricting assistance in a speech to the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) on Thursday, having just returned from a trip to Denmark which has a system the Home Office wants to move closer towards. The Home Office says the changes, due to take effect in June, will also end payments to any asylum seekers who are able to support themselves, and instead limit free accommodation and support to “those who genuinely need it”. [BBC]

US did not share details with the UK before attacking Iran

The US did not share exact operational details or timings with the UK before the joint strikes with Israel on Iran, sources have told the Guardian. The US decision to cut the UK out of the official loop on the airstrikes came alongside Keir Starmer’s decision to decline permission for the US to use British military bases for the operation. Since then, Donald Trump has attacked Starmer for his refusal to let America use the military sites, saying the special relationship is not what it was and calling him “no Churchill”. [Guardian]

Bank of England could raise interest rates over Iran energy price shock

The Bank of England could raise interest rates this year if energy prices fail to return to levels seen before the start of America’s war with Iran, leading economists have warned. Analysts across the City and at Westminster think tanks have suggested that higher inflation caused by disruption in oil and gas movements across the Strait of Hormuz and to wider energy production across the Middle East could derail the Bank’s plans to ease borrowing costs. On Wednesday, the Brent Crude Oil spot price rose to around $81, representing an increase of just over 10 per cent on prices last Friday. UK natural gas prices had more than doubled this week but eased back on Wednesday. [CityAM]

First chartered flight for Britons in the Middle East fails to take off

A British passenger who was set to leave the Middle East on a chartered plane has described the situation on the ground as a “total shambles”. Their comments come on the first flight chartered by the UK government for Britons seeking to leave Oman amid the widening Iran war did not take off. The plane was due to depart the country’s capital of Muscat at 11 pm local time (7 pm UK time) on Wednesday. [Sky News]