The UK Cabinet Office has reportedly been told to bring forward planning for the home defence programme, following threats from Russia over UK supplies to Ukraine. The initiative aims to bring together civilian and military planning for crises, including plans for the "war book", the Government's classified blueprint to transition the country for crisis and conflict, The Telegraph reports.
Deadline moved from 2035 to 2030
Sources told the outlet that some elements of the plans for homeland defences were moved forward from a previous deadline of 2035 to 2030.
"We do need to accelerate preparedness in a range of threat areas, which means in the next few years, not the next decade," a source said.
Nato warning and Russian threats
Former prime minister, Sir Keir Starmer, warned earlier this year that Moscow could launch an attack "on Nato as soon as 2030". These sentiments were echoed by intelligence agencies and Mark Rutte, Nato's secretary general.
Earlier this month, Russia warned Britain that it would pay a "price" after reports that British-made drones had been used in strikes deep inside Russia. Russia's embassy in London accused Britain of becoming "an accomplice and co-perpetrator" of the attacks and of "deliberately opting for an escalation" in the conflict.
The Ministry of Defence said in response: "Britain stands shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine and we are committed to providing the equipment Ukraine needs to defend itself against Putin's illegal invasion. Russia should be in no doubt about the resolve of this Government to stand against Russian aggression, in Ukraine and against the UK and our allies."
Grey zone attacks and national resilience
The drive to progress civil defence planning follows a former senior Russian official's warning on Tuesday of the prospect of a "semi-military" response against British drone factories supporting Ukraine. Security and defence chiefs have warned of "grey zone" attacks between peace and war, including cyber attacks on critical infrastructure.
Britain has already been the target of an unprecedented cyber attack when Iran shut down a British power station for four days. The affected plant was relatively small and the outage did not impact the wider power grid, but it showed access to sensitive sites is possible.
Officials plan to launch an information campaign on "national resilience" this autumn, with guidance on stockpiling food, water and candles. One source said: "We need to be ready for threats to become more possible by 2030."
The largest-ever national home defence exercise run by COBR, a national emergency committee named after the Cabinet Office Briefing Rooms, will be carried out in 2027.
