Britons will be urged by the Government to stock up on tinned food and bottled water in case of emergencies.
A new public information drive will encourage households to prepare for severe disruption from events such as extreme weather, cyber attacks or hostile state action.
The national resilience campaign will highlight simple steps people can take to keep themselves and their families safe in a crisis where power or water supplies are taken out, or shops are forced to close.
It comes as several incidents, including extreme heat, flooding and cyber attacks, have transpired over the last few months both in the UK and across the globe.
Louise Haigh, the First Secretary of State, is said to be organising crisis planning across various Whitehall departments to support aid being given to impacted communities more quickly.
A Government official told the Financial Times: ‘There will be practical advice on things you can do to improve domestic resilience, like having some bottled water and tinned food.’
But the source insisted: ‘It will be common sense, not scaremongering.’
Ministers are also stepping up work on national security by updating the so-called ‘war book’ that sets out how departments respond to major threats.
The Government sent a ‘severe alert’ to all mobile phones about the risk of wildfires
The biggest home defence exercise in decades will take place next year ‘to ensure that should the worst ever happen, we will always be ready’, MPs were told last month.
It comes after Andy Burnham ordered loud emergency alerts to be sent to all mobile phones in England and Wales earlier this month, warning of the danger posed by wildfires.
During his Makerfield by-election campaign, the Prime Minister repeatedly voiced his concerns about the threat of flooding and the government’s inadequate response and planning to such natural disasters.
Downing Street insisted the move was ‘entirely appropriate ‘, but many said the system should be reserved for more urgent threats to life such as terror attacks.
Charities and domestic abuse survivors also criticised the alert for risking the safety of those potentially hiding secret phones.
Meanwhile, at the weekend it emerged that hackers linked to Iran managed to shut down a power plant in the UK last month.
Before departing No. 10, Sir Keir Starmer had warned Russia could launch an attack on a Nato country in the next four years, western intelligence assessments had indicated.
On Monday, Burnham accused the Kremlin of ‘outrageous threats’ against the UK after the country warned of retaliation over Britain’s support of Ukraine.
Putin had been advised the new incumbent in No10 would be ‘softer than [Sir Keir] Starmer’.
But the Russian president’s hopes were dashed by the Prime Minister’s moves to fortify the UK-Ukraine military alliance in recent weeks, swapping missile blueprints and battlefield AI with Moscow’s enemy.
Vladimir Putin’s spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, said the exchange would add ‘fuel to the fire’ and impact moves towards peace talks.
‘Britain is involved in this war on the side of the Kyiv regime,’ he said.
‘Britain methodically and regularly adds fuel to the fire, and methodically and regularly hatches schemes to prevent even the slightest progress in the peaceful settlement process.’
A spokesman for the Cabinet Office said: ‘Safeguarding national security is the first priority of any government.
‘We’re committed to raising awareness of simple steps households can take to make themselves more resilient, as well as driving forward the Home Defence Programme to build our country’s preparedness for various threats.’
You must be logged in to post a comment Login