A benchmark barrel of Brent crude oil strayed close to $103 overnight as oil traders had their first opportunity to react to the latest news.

The cost is now around $101, up nearly 7%, after remaining below $100 from Wednesday to market open on Sunday evening.

Money blog: 'I'm a travel agent - you're wrong on five-star hotels'

That drop had been precipitated by the temporary ceasefire between the US and Iran.

But the breakdown in talks between the US and Iran over the weekend led the US to say it will begin a blockade of Iranian ports from 3pm UK time.

That warning of further disruption to the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly a fifth of the world's oil and liquified natural gas (LNG) flows, is behind the oil price rises being seen on Monday.

Similarly, UK wholesale gas costs were up more than 9% following news of the latest disruption.

Cost-of-living hits

More expensive oil and gas mean prices overall will rise.

In particular, gas prices determine household energy bills and the cost of fertiliser.

Higher energy bills and pricier fertiliser mean food production is more expensive and this can mean the cost of food goes up.

Consumers have already been impacted by the fossil fuel price spikes.

Research from the Resolution Foundation thinktank said these higher energy prices will mean the median working-age household will be £480 worse off this year than it would have been if the conflict had not taken place.

Last week, car services company the RAC said average prices of both petrol and diesel have now increased every day for the last 40 days.

Latest figures, from Friday, had said petrol increased 19% on pre-war levels while diesel was up just shy of 49% to 158.16 pence a litre for petrol and 191.31 for diesel.

The cost of home heating oil has also doubled since the end of February, going from 60.46 to 121.76 pence per litre if buying 1,000 litres, according to supplier Boiler Juice.

Market plunge

The UK's flagship stock index, the FTSE 100, shed nearly 0.5% on the open.

The stock sell-off was clear across Europe, as the pan-European Stoxx 600 dropped just under 0.8%.

The changes, subject to a nine-week consultation from Monday, will see schools barred from offering "unhealthy" foods like sausage rolls and pizza every day, desserts restricted, and fried foods banned.

Instead, schools will be required to offer more higher-fibre wholegrains, such as wholemeal bread, brown pasta, and rice, and a portion of vegetables or salad alongside every main meal.

The aim is to reduce the number of obese children - one in three are leaving primary school overweight or obese, and tooth decay from high-sugar diets is the leading cause of hospital admissions for kids aged five to nine.

According to a poll conducted by the Department for Education last week, 74% of parents have at least one concern about their child's nutrition, with the biggest worries expressed around their child eating too much sugar (43%), having a varied enough diet (30%), and getting enough fruit and vegetables (30%).

Read more:
Man charged over student death
Eamonn Holmes suffers stroke

To ensure the changes are made, ministers are also developing a new "robust national enforcement system" that will monitor schools' compliance, expected to be in place from September 2027 - although secondary schools will have a further year to make the changes.

The government's plans have received backing from food campaigners, charities and nutritional experts, including actor and Food Foundation ambassador Dame Emma Thompson, who said she is "thrilled".

"School meals are a golden opportunity to support children's health, learning and wellbeing - and getting this right means children across the country can truly thrive," she said.

"This is a landmark moment for families, for the NHS, and for the future of our young people."

Chef and campaigner Jamie Oliver also endorsed the plans, saying he is "delighted" with the proposed changes.

"Twenty years ago, dog food had higher standards than school dinners. I've been banging the drum ever since because I refuse to accept our kids being fed anything less than proper, nourishing meals," he continued.

"School food is the UK's most important restaurant chain. From September, during term-time schools will provide two-thirds of a child's daily diet - a massive opportunity to improve health at scale. My Good School Food Awards prove that world-class meals are possible right now, and every child deserves that same quality.

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson described the plans as "the most ambitious overhaul of school food in a generation", saying: "Every child deserves to have delicious, nutritious food at school that gives them the energy to concentrate, learn and thrive."

The announcement comes as over 500 new free breakfast clubs will open in primary schools this month, in addition to the 750 schools already offering one, which the government says will save parents up to £450 a year.

The 36-year-old, from Northern Ireland, is only the fourth player to become a back-to-back champion - joining the elite group of Jack Nicklaus, Sir Nick Faldo and Tiger Woods - and matches Faldo's tally of six majors.

His win topped a nailbiting final day of making up ground after losing a record-breaking six-shot lead heading into the weekend at Augusta National in Georgia.

Starting the final day level with Cameron Young on 11 under having squandered that advantage, there were more than a few moments when McIlroy's victory looked in doubt.

There was a point when he was two behind but he finally kicked into gear with back-to-back birdies at the seventh and eighth. Then when then-leader Justin Rose played Amen Corner in two over par, McIlroy seized the initiative with birdies as the 12th and 13th to move into the outright lead again.

Even with a two-stroke advantage, he served up some drama on the 18th tee by carving his drive into the Georgia pines, where he had already spent a lot of time this week.

McIlroy posted a one-under 71 to finish on 12 under, one ahead of Scottie Scheffler, with Tyrrell Hatton's brilliant final-round 66 putting him in third spot alongside Justin Rose, Cameron Young and Russell Henley.

With victory secured, McIlroy looked up at the sky and screamed before hugging his ​caddie Harry Diamond.

McIlroy now takes the coveted green jacket, presented to all winners, for the second time.

The last consecutive US Masters wins were more than 20 years ago, with Woods winning the competition in 2001 and 2002. Before that, Faldo did the double and in 1989 and '90, while Nicklaus was the first in '65 and '66.

Speaking after his win at the official presentation, McIlroy said: "My parting message last year was 'I can't wait to come back next year and put the green jacket on myself'.

"I wasn't quite correct, because the chairman did it, but I did want to come back and prove that last year wasn't a fluke.

"This is an absolutely incredible golf tournament, so unique in so many ways.

"The Masters continues to be the shining light of the majors, and I'm so honoured and thrilled to win for the second time."

'More and more a LEGEND!'

Donald Trump congratulated McIlroy on "another Great Championship".

Writing on his Truth Social platform, the US president said: "He performed tremendously under intense pressure, something which few people would be able to even think about doing. With each year, Rory is becoming more and more a LEGEND!"

Read more:
Rory McIlroy makes more major history
Government bans deep-fried foods from school menus

Speaking to Sky Sports, Faldo said: "All credit to him. Incredible. He's got another major to his name.

"All he needs now is to win another US Open and another Open Championship and then he'll be a two-time grand slam champion.

"That's his goal. To get there along with the likes of Jack (Nicklaus) and Tiger (Woods).

"He's unique. Rory is the only one out of those guys to go 11 years between wins, and then he's added another one."

There were scenes of jubilation at McIlroy's hometown Holywood Golf Club in Co Down.

Zach Woods, 19, said he and his friends thought the victory was "really inspiring".

"It is great to be honest, to see a boy from our community achieve such great things," he told the Press Association.

"It pushes us to strive to do the best that we can to achieve the things that we love."

In the first major study of its kind since the ban came into force, 12 to 15-year-olds in the country were found to still be using restricted platforms.

Three in five who had accounts on restricted platforms before December, including TikTok, Instagram and YouTube, still had access to one or more of their accounts.

The research suggests 53% of child users on TikTok, 53% on YouTube and 52% of Instagram users were still able to access accounts on the platform.

Sky News has contacted the platforms for comment.

The research was conducted online between 12 March and 31 March and commissioned by the Molly Rose Foundation (MRF), which has spoken out against a proposed similar ban in the UK, and YouthInsight, which has access to Australia's largest online youth panel.

Two-thirds of continuing YouTube users, 61% of Snapchat users, and 60% of both Instagram and TikTok users told researchers the platforms had taken "no action" to remove or deactivate an account they had before restrictions.

Half of the children who used restricted platforms prior to the ban coming into force say it has made no change to their online safety, while one in seven say the ban has made them feel less safe.

Despite these new figures, Australian adults recently reported a more positive story.

YouGov polling in March suggested 61% of parents of children aged 16 and under saw between two and four positive behavioural changes following the ban, including more in-person social interactions, improved parent-child relationships and children being more present and engaged during interactions.

However, two in five parents observed between two and four negative impacts, including increased digital inequality, a shift to alternative or less regulated platforms and a reduction in social connection.

Read more on social media:
The countries planning social media bans
Social media craze of teens swarming cities
Issues with banning children from social media

The UK government is currently consulting the public on whether to implement a similar ban of its own or to take other action around online harm.

The consultation is still ongoing, with results expected in the summer, however the chief executive of MRF, Andy Burrows, argued this new research "raises major questions about the effectiveness" of a ban.

"Parents and children deserve better than a flawed ban that delivers a false sense of safety that quickly unravels," Mr Burrows added.

"Proponents of a ban argue that it offers an immediate and decisive firebreak, but the early evidence from Australia shows it only lets tech firms off the hook and fails to give children the step change in online safety and wellbeing they need."

Instead, the charity wants the UK government to strengthen regulation around tech firms and social media to protect young people online - a viewpoint echoed by the UK's largest children's charity, the NSPCC and other major organisations.

Australia's legislation means tech companies now have a legal duty to stop under-16s using their platforms at scale.

If they fail to do so, they could face fines of up to $49.5m (£25m) for failing to comply.

A month after the restrictions came into force, Meta said it had already blocked 550,000 accounts from its platforms but still had "concerns about determining age online without an industry standard".

In the UK, there's widespread support for greater protection for young people online, and a December poll by YouGov showed a majority of UK adults supported a social media ban for under-16s.

There are already numerous countries planning to follow Australia's example, with Greece becoming the latest to announce it would ban under-15s from social media in the country.

On the same day, Greek prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis wrote to the head of the European Commission asking for EU-wide legislation to block young people from social media.

It is part of wider efforts to modernise how the government is reaching voters and combat inflammatory far-right content spreading online.

Ministers have seen research which shows communications from government department social media channels are only reaching 2% of the public.

At the same time, far-right political content regularly ends up in the list of top five news stories that reach users each week on the "big 5" platforms - YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and X.

The research has concerned Darren Jones, the chief secretary to the prime minister, who was tasked with modernising how Whitehall operates when he was appointed to the new role in September.

The cabinet minister wants to ensure the government is showing up where people are increasingly getting their news so they aren't left to "conspiracy theorists and keyboard warriors", a source close to him told Sky News.

YouTube has been identified as being particularly important, following a study in February which showed TV is now the most popular device to watch YouTube on across all age groups.

The source added: "Government is out of date in so many ways. The system needs a shake to get in better tech across the public sector and get rid of pointless paper forms and bureaucracy.

"But it also means modernising the way the government communicates with the public. We can't abandon the internet to the clutches of conspiracy theorists and keyboard warriors."

Some departments already have their own YouTube channels.

However over the course of the next year, the government intends to funnel more video content through a central UK government YouTube channel to maximise audience building, rather than having a huge array of different individual channels run by departments and arms-length bodies, without much reach.

Video content on this central channel is expected to feature influencers and everyday people with real voices rather than government ministers.

The videos will promote new government services on offer, such as apprenticeships and digital ID, rather than political messaging, which is the role of Labour Party communications.

Creative decisions will rest with the New Media Unit (NMU), which is headed by Sir Keir Starmer's director of digital communications, Caitlin Roper.

The NMU was set up after Labour took office and is being expanded in order to produce more content in house, with a bigger budget and headcount, Sky News has learnt.

Read more from Faye Brown:
Ban on 'barely legal' content
Electricity and gas bills reform

Recent work includes placing ads about the NHS on Spotify playlists used by the target audience, and a Cost of Living campaign using paid creator content which is said to have reached an audience of 1.3 million.

However Labour MPs remain concerned that the government is failing to communicate what it has achieved and what it stands for. Few are in denial that May's local elections could be a "bloodbath" with Sir Keir Starmer's personal unpopularity remaining a big barrier.

The prime minister set up a TikTok account last year and has recently launched a "With Keir" series answering questions put to him on social media from the public, in a bid to boost his image.

These were done by Number 10's digital team whereas the NMU sits in the Cabinet Office.

These reforms are part of efforts by Mr Jones to bring the Cabinet Office and Number 10 closer together.

The NMU's aim is to take a more centralised approach to overall government communications for more cohesive story telling, amid concern dozens of different departments are doing different things under their own branding.

Mr Jones works closely with David Dinsmore, the former editor of The Sun who was controversially brought in as a senior civil servant to develop a new government communications strategy last year.

A government spokesperson said: "Today's media landscape is unrecognisable compared to even a decade ago. Government Communications must change with that to ensure people get reliable information on the platforms they use."