Andy Burnham has encouraged people to stockpile supplies in case of a crisis, while taking a swipe at Angela Rayner's suggestion of keeping wine in her emergency box. The Government is urging Britons to keep essential items such as tinned food and bottled water as part of a new "be ready" campaign.
Burnham's Response to Wine Suggestion
The Housing Secretary previously joked that a bottle of sauvignon blanc and mascara would be in her kit. But the Prime Minister insisted alcohol should not be the priority when stocking up. Asked if wine would also be part of his emergency box, Mr Burnham said: "I'm not sure that that's the top of the list in terms of the advice that we're giving to the public."
He added: "You need to have a clear head when it comes to a challenging situation. So yeah, some tins of food, some bottled water. But I'm sure people are allowed a glass or two as well to get them through a difficult situation."
Campaign Details and Checklist
Under the campaign, households are being urged to prepare for everyday services being temporarily disrupted by stocking three days' worth of key supplies. The checklist advises stocking up with three days' worth of bottled water and non-perishable food, a battery-powered or wind-up FM radio to receive updates during outages, and cash in case electronic payments or cash machines are disrupted.
Defence Secretary Defends Campaign
Defence Secretary Wes Streeting defended the campaign against accusations of "scaremongering" on Thursday's Question Time after panic buying during the Covid pandemic. Mr Streeting said: "We did have this debate though, just to reassure… because we want people to be alert but not alarmed, and the truth is we looked around the rest of Europe, 'what are our friends doing across the continent?' They are way ahead of us on some of this stuff."
Tory shadow national security minister Alicia Kearns criticised the advice as "lecturing the public". She said: "Preparing for emergencies is important. But the Government should get its own house in order before lecturing the public. It isn't families that are failing to fund our defence or secure reliable energy – it's Labour. With rising threats to our national security, we must all be ready to face all eventualities. We each have a role to play, but the Government must lead by example."
