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* FTSE 100 up 0.04%, FTSE 250 down 0.4%

* Burberry ( BBRYF ) slides as Middle East conflict hits tourist

spending

* BP, ConocoPhillips ( COP ) gain on Iraq investment report

* Andy Burnham set to become Britain's next prime minister

July 17 (Reuters) - London's FTSE 100 was little changed on

Friday as gains in energy stocks, driven by higher oil prices

amid escalating Middle East tensions, offset weakness in

financial shares, with Andy Burnham set to become Britain's next

prime minister.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 index rose 0.04% to 10,576.97

by 1043 GMT, while the midcap FTSE 250 slipped 0.4%.

* The United States escalated its renewed bombing campaign

on Iran by hitting bridges and an airport, and Tehran responded

with strikes on U.S. bases across the Middle East.

* Energy stocks gained 1.7% as oil prices

edged higher on concerns over supply disruptions after the

United States and Iran stepped up attacks across the Gulf,

fuelling fears over exports through the Strait of Hormuz and the

Red Sea.

* Utilities, rose 2%, leading sectoral gains.

* On the flip side, banks fell, pressuring

the index, with Barclays ( BCS ), Lloyds Banking Group ( LYG )

and Standard Chartered ( SCBFF ) down between 1% and 1.6%.

* Personal goods also fell 4.3% after

Burberry ( BBRYF ) warned that the conflict in the Middle East

was hurting tourist spending in Europe, sending shares in the

British luxury brand down more than 5.6% despite strong sales

growth in the United States and China during the April-June

quarter.

* On the political front, Andy Burnham, nicknamed the 'King

of the North', will become leader of Britain's governing Labour

Party, the final step before becoming its seventh prime minister

in a decade on a pledge to thwart the rise of the populist

Reform UK.

* Among other stocks, GSK fell 3.8% after the

drugmaker said it would halt development of its experimental

treatment for refractory chronic cough after the therapy failed

a late-stage trial and missed key efficacy goals across multiple

dosages.

* BP and ConocoPhillips ( COP ) rose 1% and 1.2%,

respectively, after CNBC reported that the energy companies are

set to announce billions of dollars in new investments in Iraq

as Washington seeks to strengthen the country's energy sector

and reduce reliance on export routes vulnerable to disruption

from regional conflict.

(Reporting by Tharuniyaa Lakshmi in Bengaluru; Editing by

Shinjini Ganguli)