Morning briefing Monday 17th March

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0:36This is The Times morning briefing for Tuesday 17th March. President Trump has again criticised the UK Prime Minister for refusing to send warships to the Middle East to defend the Strait of Hormuz from Iranian attacks. Sir Keir Starmer said Britain would not be dragged into the wider war. Michael Martins was political and economic specialist at the US Embassy in the UK during Trump's first term. He says even though the president is ramping up the pressure, European leaders will have to find a way to work with him. I think although they are also calling for de-escalation, I think they also have to figure out how did they de-escalate with the president because this is becoming a long-standing thing and it's starting to look like a loss for the president and I think he's going to want to save face in this and I think that's where the landing zone is but it's up to European leaders and Starmer and the like to find that avenue.

1:27Britain could face fuel rationing if the war in the Middle East continues. Oil companies say price rises resulting from the American war with Iran could force the government to protect supplies for hospitals and essential services. A fifth of the world's oil and gas stocks are affected by the war and industry experts are warning that Britain would not be immune from a global supply shortage if the Strait of Hormuz remains blocked. Tributes are being paid to two students who have died from meningitis after an outbreak in Kent. Three schools have now confirmed cases of meningitis and 11 people remain in hospital.

2:03The UK Health Security Agency is asking anyone who attended Club Chemistry in Canterbury on March 5th, 6th or 7th to come forward for preventative meningitis treatment. Dr Sarah Pitt is a virologist and fellow at the Institute of Biomedical Scientists. She told Tom's Radio why students are being offered precautionary antibiotics. The difference between this infection and others that we've worried about recently is it's caused by a bacteria, a very specific type of bacteria, and therefore antibiotics are available as treatment. And it's a very standard antibiotic and it's very effective. It looks as though they're giving it to anyone in the university who wants it and it will give them a bit of protection against this particular infection and hopefully will bring it under control.

2:48The Times website has comprehensive details of possible symptoms and information on how the disease spreads. 16 % of roads looked after by local authorities in England and Wales, as opposed to national highways, are thought to have less than five years structural life in them. The amount needed to fix all the problems has increased since last year from£17 billion to£18.6 billion. David Giles from the Asphalt Industry Alliance, who did the research, told us what this means. That manifests itself as potholes, which means public money is being put into repairing potholes instead of where it should be spent, properly maintaining the roads and keeping them to a good condition.

3:35The government did announce£7.3 billion for roads in December. You can follow The Times News Briefing on Spotify and listen live to Times Radio Online.

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