The British public should begin taking “small but important steps” to secure water, power supplies and basic phone signal in case of severe weather emergencies, national crises or cyber-attacks, Downing Street has said. The call comes as the government launches a public awareness campaign to help people prepare for potential disruptions.
Darren Jones, the chief secretary to the prime minister, told MPs that “the risks we face from climate change cannot be underestimated”, warning of “significant and prolonged disruption to essential services” from extreme weather. He also highlighted that artificial intelligence and global conflicts could enable hostile cyber-attacks against businesses and critical infrastructure.
The UK’s national risk register has been updated with seven new crises, including foreign interference in democracy, cyber-attacks on data, water and police systems, and a “digital resilience failure” scenario based on the 2024 CrowdStrike outage. Ministers were previously warned that Britain’s supply chains were unprepared for a major shock such as a war with Russia, lagging behind European neighbours in stockpiling critical medicines.
Jones said: “Throughout our history, the UK has overcome challenges, from plagues and pandemics to war, and our fair share of wet weather. It is right that we consistently evaluate the risks we could face and plan for what may come.” He announced a national public awareness campaign to help people prepare for emergencies that could affect access to power, water, phone signal or food.
The UK’s largest ever “national home defence exercise” will take place in 2027, featuring hundreds of officials wargaming preparedness for hybrid attacks. Armed forces minister Louise Sandherson-Jones said: “Russia is not only a threat to Nato’s eastern flank. It is a direct threat to the UK homeland… these exercises will help prepare us to meet that threat.”
