Middle East energy crisis could wipe £35bn off UK economy – even in best-case scenario, think tank warns

The energy crisis triggered by the Iran war could wipe £35bn off the UK economy – even in the best-case scenario, a leading think tank has warned.

But a prolonged conflict in the region could plunge the UK into recession during the second half of this year, the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (Niesr) said in bleak new projections.