Brits will be targeted in a major new government campaign urging them to be ready for disasters such as extreme weather, cyber attacks and ‘state-sponsored terrorism’.
Defence Secretary Wes Streeting announced today that new guidance is being pushed out to get the public braced for a broad range of threats that could land on UK shores.
The ‘Be Ready’ campaign will pop up in various forms around the country, in social media feeds and on radio adverts over the next three years.
It will set out ‘simple steps’ that regular people can take to make them more prepared for an emergency.
They include signing up for the Priority Services Register, which helps utilities companies know which households might need extra support in times of trouble.
Brits will also be told to stock up on non-perishable food and bottled water at home.
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The campaign is centred around the idea of people coping with ‘three days of disruption’ – a concept borrowed from similar approaches in France, Ireland and the Netherlands.
Streeting echoed recent warnings from figures including Army chief Sir Roly Walker and MI5’s Sir Ken McCallum that there must be a bigger focus on preparedness.
Speaking at a new tank gun barrel factory in Telford, West Midlands, the defence secretary said: ‘We have to step up and take seriously our national resilience as well as our national defence.
‘It’s really important that we ask households and businesses, are they prepared?
‘Are they ready? Do they know how they would respond in the event of everyday challenges that might manifest themselves?’
He highlighted the threat of hostile states hitting the UK with covert attacks sometimes called hybrid warfare or grey zone threats, but which he said he prefers to call ‘state-sponsored terrorism’.
Such incidents could include ‘increasingly sophisticated cyber attacks’, Streeting suggested.
In his annual threat update speech last week, MI5 director general Sir Ken McCallum said his message to the British public was: ‘You have a stake in our national resilience.
‘You too have a vital role to play. It might be quiet, it might be lifesaving. It all counts.’
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