Britons are being told to stockpile enough bottled water and emergency supplies for three days under a revamp of its disaster-planning advice for households.
The Government’s emergencies website has been changed from “Prepare” to “Be Ready”, with people visiting the page asked: “Are you emergency ready?”
It is the first time official guidance tells Britons to stockpile a number of key supplies for three days – bringing the UK in line with France, Ireland and the Netherlands.
MI5 monitored Nye Bevan for more than 20 years, records show
Anuerin “Nye” Bevan – feted for founding the NHS – was subject to monitoring by MI5 for more than two decades, according to newly released official files.
What you need to know
Papers released to the National Archives show Bevan first came to the attention of the Security Service in the 1930s amid concern about his links with prominent communists.
The monitoring continued even after he became a minister in the post-war Labour government when he drove through the creation of the NHS.
5 min read
What do the files tell us?
- The files start from 1933, four years after Bevan became MP for Ebbw Vale in South Wales.
- At the time, he was notorious as a staunch critic of Labour prime minister Ramsay MacDonald.
- Bevan met many high-profile left-wing leaders from trade unionists to communists.
- This meant his name commonly appeared in intercepted letters and tapped conversations.
A closer look at the files
- He strongly opposed the government’s handling of the Second World War, which attracted particular MI5 attention.
- MI5 deemed it “sufficiently serious” in May 1949 when Bevan was associated with communist Wilfred McCartney – a serial offender of the Official Secrets Act.
- Prime minister Clement Atlee was informed of Bevan’s maintained relationships with the Communist Party of Great Britain.
3 min read
Bevan was ‘never a spy’
It was previously thought that Bevan was the subject of Security Service surveillance during WW2. This significant set of documents confirms that it was the case for the best part of three decades. What is revealed is that Nye was never a spy but someone who was true to his country and believed in democratic socialism to transform Britain for the better.
NICK THOMAS-SYMONDS, Labour mp and historian
What is PHP – and why did it spark a global cyber security scramble?
A total of 32 government services are offline and four are partially unavailable amid the , a minister has said in the House of Lords.
Organisations around the world have been scrambling to fix a critical security flaw in the programming language PHP.
What is PHP?
- Developed in the 90s to serve dynamic web pages, PHP still powers lots of platforms today, including Wikipedia, online shops and WordPress.
- According to cyber security firm Wiz, which helped uncover the critical vulnerabilities this week, PHP powers 70 per cent of the world’s websites.
The vulnerability
- A group of cyber security researchers disclosed two vulnerabilities within PHP this week, which they warned could upend sites across the internet.
The alert disrupted services globally, from gaming platforms to government portals and online forums.
The impact on the UK
- As of 12pm on Wednesday, 32 UK government services were offline and four were partially unavailable, a minister said in the House of Lords.
- The security of next week’s Government Budget has not been compromised by the flaw.
- A spokeswoman added that it is not “standard practice” to provide a list of government services that are affected.
What happens now?
- Organisations have been warned that Russian state actors or organised criminals could exploit the flaws again.
4 min read
Gusts of 70-80mph in exposed coastal areas and high ground are possible.
The Met Office has announced the second named storm of the year, with Storm Boelo to bring strong winds and heavy rain to parts of Northern Ireland, Scotland and northern England on Saturday and Sunday.
What you need to know
- Storm Boelo is expected to mostly affect northern parts of the country over the weekend.
- Strongest winds will be across Northern Ireland, Scotland and northern England on Saturday.
- Boelo’s arrival comes less than 48 hours after the announcement of the first named storm, Austen, which is set to impact on Friday.
- When Boelo hits, it will bring “impactful winds” to northern parts on Saturday night and through Sunday, the Met Office warned.
3 min read
What to expect
Gusts of 70-80mph in exposed coastal areas and high ground are possible, with 50-60mph gusts more widely. The strong winds will be accompanied by heavy rain, making for an impactful weekend of weather. Severe weather warnings and forecast detail will continue to develop, so people should keep up to date with the forecast.
Chris Bulmer, Met Office Deputy Chief Forecaster
The weather warnings for Storm Austen already in place
All the ways Trump’s man in Moscow debased the US in front of Putin
Sat at a big round table in a gilded chair in St Petersburg on Wednesday, face-to-face with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, US envoy Steve Witkoff had the eyes of the world on him. Would this be the beginning of the end of the war in Ukraine? Would he push for peace?
‘All Putin’s Christmases come at once’
One reporter described it instead as “all Putin’s Christmases come at once”. Matthew Sussex, a national security expert at Australia’s Deakin University, warned not to view it as a game of geopolitical poker. Witkoff was “playing tiddlywinks”, he said. A promise to resume trilateral talks would probably amount to nothing.
What Witkoff said to Putin
You talk so much about my president, President Trump, being a humanitarian, you are a humanitarian also, sir. And I salute that. I commend you, and I thank you again.
Witkoff said to Putin, early in the public portion of the talks before they began in earnest behind closed doors
What was he referring to?
- He was referring to Russia’s release earlier that day of Stephen Hubbard, a retired US schoolteacher imprisoned in Russia.
- This is not the first time Witkoff has been effusive in his praise of Putin.
- When he met Putin in September he told the Russian leader that just before the meeting they “were all talking about when we retire, we’ll have all these incredible stories…and yours will be right at the top of it all”.
3 min read
How did Trump react?
Calling Putin a “humanitarian” was such a reach that even Donald Trump tried to qualify it later, saying: “Well, I guess you could say [it] for that particular purpose, for the purpose of allowing a man who was thinking he was going to be in prison for life, out, but you know, I wouldn’t say anything one way or the other, you know?”
Other Republicans found it harder to swallow.
It’s official – Glee will return to our screens
At last month’s series 13 premiere, director Ryan Murphy revealed he’d written an for a Glee reboot.
It’s been 11 years since the final episode of the musical-comedy-drama aired but now “Gleeks” have something to believe in as reported that Disney+ and Hulu officially picked up a revival of the iconic show.
I just finished the script an hour ago, so, we have a script. Brad, Ian, and I, who wrote all the first two seasons, have written something. I’ve been in touch with around 10 of the original cast members.
murphy in an interview with entertainment tonight
Who is coming back for the reboot?
Ryan Murphy seemingly confirmed that 10 of the original cast members are “enthusiastic” about reprising their roles – who are they?
Sources revealed to that Lea Michele, who played Rachel Berry, is “in”. Heather Morris confirmed in an Instagram post that Brittany Pierce “is alive and well” and back for more”. Chord Overstreet, who played Sam Evans, seemingly announced his return on X: “Reunited and it feels so good!”
What will it be about?
Will it pick up from where the series ended in 2015? Or will it fast-forward a decade?
As of the series finale, it left off as:
- Mr Shue becomes the principal of the up-and-coming performing arts school, McKinley High, and names its auditorium in Finn’s honour.
- Rachel wins a Tony Award, marries Jesse St James and becomes a surrogate mother to Blaine.
- Mercedes pursues a career in pop music and ultimately ends up as an opening act for Beyoncé.
A cultural phenomenon
How popular was Glee?
10 million
The chaotic six-series-long drama attracted an average audience of 10 million viewers a week, transforming stars like Lea Michele and Jonathan Groff as household names.
207
Known for its ballads, the show landed 207 covers on the Billboard Hot 100 alongside winning six Emmys and four Golden Globes during its run.
Blood tests could identify men most at risk of prostate cancer
Researchers at Oxford University have discovered signs in men’s blood that could protect those most at risk of the disease.
Here is everything you need to know.
What you need to know
This latest research will help predict which men will develop the cancer most aggressively and hopes that doctors will soon be able to screen for it in hospitals.
- It found that 12 proteins in the blood were linked to a future diagnosis of the cancer – sometimes appearing as late as 15 years.
The expert view
Prostate cancer is not one disease. By measuring thousands of proteins in blood collected years before diagnosis, we can investigate how men who develop aggressive cancer differ from men who do not. We hope this will improve how we assess risk in the future.
Dr Zhe Huang, a postdoctoral epidemiologist at Oxford Population Health
How does this research change current practices?
- The research found that the immune system may be keeping early cancerous stages in check before diagnosis.
- It opens avenues to identify the processes that drive aggressive forms of prostate cancer.
- It could help implement a national screening programme, which does not currently exist in the UK.
- It could help prevent unnecessary biopsies and treatments for slow-growing tumours.
- While these proteins do not always equate to cancer, they help reveal biological changes which can lead to the increased likelihood of it.
Prostate cancer – in numbers
- 7proteins linked to aggressive cancer.
- 1,500men a year will be offered tests under the latest NHS proposals, unless they have symptoms.
- 12,000men a year die from the disease in the UK.
- 63,000men are diagnosed with the cancer annually in the UK.
The website – beready.campaign.gov.uk – is designed to get people prepared for civil emergencies like flooding, power cuts and wildfires.
But the revamp also comes amid increased warnings over the threat of war on the UK homeland before the end of the decade.
Russia has also stepped up its hybrid warfare attacks on the West, fuelling concerns that a prolonged, nationwide power cut could be caused by damage to Britain’s undersea communications cables or a cyber attack on a data centre.
Five steps to take in an emergency
The Government’s emergencies website lists five steps people can take straightaway to get ready for a possible emergency. They are:
- Get a first aid kit prepared
- Contact neighbours and the local community to share supplies or volunteer in the case of a disaster
- Sign up for priority help from utility companies
- Sign up for emergency alerts
For the first time, householders will be encouraged to share emergency supplies on neighbourhood WhatsApp groups, swap contact details and discuss what extra support they might be able to offer their neighbours in a disaster scenario.
The “Prepare” message has been changed to “Be Ready” after the Government consulted more than 500 organisations and members of the public about how emergency communications could be clearer.
Those who may need extra assistance during a power cut or if water supplies are down are being told to sign up to the Priority Services Register, which is used by utility companies to target vulnerable people first.
The website revamp is the first stage of a three-year campaign to help households across the UK feel better prepared for events such as severe weather, which can occasionally affect services including power, water, phones and the internet.
While the details of what people should stockpile have not changed, there is a greater emphasis on having enough for three days’ worth of supplies.
Nine key items you should keep in your cupboards
The Government’s new stockpile advice includes making sure you have the following nine items:
- Enough bottled water for three days – including three litres per person per day drinking water, with extra for cooking and washing
- Non-perishable food for three days – such as tinned meat, fish or vegetables, dried fruit and nuts
- Hand sanitiser, wet wipes, hygiene and bathroom products in case water supplies are off
- Torch with spare batteries, blankets, sleeping bags and warm clothing in case of power cuts
- FM radio powered by batteries or wind-up to listen for emergency government broadcasts, as well as a charged power bank to keep mobile phones on
- Cash, including a mix of coins and notes, and cards, copies of ID/documents and important phone numbers and information such as GP numbers, regular prescription details
- Baby formula, nappies, wipes and any other essential baby products if applicable
The relaunched website says people should first check their cupboards to see what essentials they already have before drawing up a list of what everyone in the household would need in an emergency.
People are advised to build up their stockpiles gradually during regular shopping trips rather than rushing out to create an entire store from scratch and making it easier to spread the cost.
They should set a reminder every six months to check expiry dates and swap out items that need replacing, or update the kit if their household’s needs have changed.
The Government has also worked closely with local resilience forums across the UK to root the advice in what works for local communities.
Security minister Dan Jarvis said: “Those who can follow this advice should follow this advice.
“By taking simple steps to be ready for everyday emergencies like severe storms, people can reduce pressure on emergency services, helping them prioritise people who need more support in an emergency.
“This is just the sort of community-focused campaign the UK needs to improve our resilience as a nation. It will bring us into line with European counterparts, where advice like this is a normal part of everyday life.”
Outreach to audiences at risk in everyday emergencies
Over the coming weeks and months, social media and radio advertising will help reach audiences who may be particularly at risk in everyday emergencies, such as families with young children and older people.
To ensure the updated advice is relevant and accessible to all, the Be Ready campaign has been built in collaboration with charities and campaigners that work with groups that are often under-represented, including people with insecure housing and people who use foodbanks.
Laura Scott, British Red Cross director for UK Resilience, said: “We can’t control when emergencies happen, but we can all take some simple steps to be prepared, so that when they do, we are ready to help our friends, families and neighbours.
“We know from our work across the UK that local people know their communities best and want to play a part when a crisis happens. Having clear and trusted advice for people, especially those who may be more at risk, could help reduce the impact of crises and even save lives.”