Oil giants make 'extraordinary' profits... but say they're not 'profiteering' from Iran

Oil and gas company BP's profits have soared as it benefits from windfall prices amid the Iran war. 00:01 Nick Ferrari reacts to BP doubling their profits in just three months. 00:48 Shelagh Fogarty hears from anti-oil campaigner Robert Palmer. 04:33 Minister Steve Reed is asked what happened to the government's pledge to 'stop profiteering'. 06:25 Professor of environmental science Christian Dunn says war profiteering is 'as old as war itself'. 08:43 The Daily Mail's city editor Alex Brummer is asked if there's such a thing as 'too much profit'. The firm's profits more than doubled in the first three months of the year after attacks led to the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping waterway through which approximately 20 per cent of the world's oil flows. In the first three months of 2026 BP's underlying profits surged by more than 130 per cent, hitting 3.198 billionn dollars (£2.366 billion). Most analysts had expected profits of 2.67 billion dollars (£1.97 billion) in the first quarter. The group’s customers and products division – including its oil trading unit – reported profits of 2.5 billion (£1.84 billion), compared with just 103 million dollars (£76.2 million) a year ago. BP acknowledged soaring profits "reflects exceptional oil trading" it said. Fossil fuel producers are subject to a windfall tax introduced after Russia's invasion of Ukraine when some companies recorded record profits. BP paid 78 per cent tax on taxable profits from its North Sea business. However overall the company said its effective tax rate was lower this year than in 2025. Listen to the full show on the all-new LBC App: https://app.af.lbc.co.uk/btnc/thenewlbcapp #nickferrari #ukpolitics #LBC LBC is the home of live debate around news and current affairs in the UK. Join in the conversation and listen at https://www.lbc.co.uk/ Sign up to LBC’s weekly newsletter here: https://l-bc.co/signup