Image source, ReutersByKate WhannelPolitical reporter- Published20 minutes ago
The public will be urged to take "small but important steps" to prepare for food or water shortages in the event of a cyber-attack or severe weather, the government has said as it updated Parliament on its national resilience plans.
Cabinet Office Minister Darren Jones said a public awareness campaign would be launched later this year to help people prepare for emergencies.
He also said the government would carry out the "largest UK home defence exercise in several decades" next year to ensure the UK is ready "should the worst ever happen".
Separately, the national risk register, external has been updated with seven new risks including the threat of a cyber-attack on water infrastructure.
The threat of "digital resilience failure" - such as the global CrowdStrike outage which crippled more than eight million computers - has also been added to the list of the most acute risks facing the UK, which totals 95.
One risk has been removed from the register. The threat of disruption to Russian gas supplies is no longer on the list "reflecting that the UK has reduced its reliance on Russian gas".
The introduction of the risk register said the country's resilience had been "tested like never before" by global events, pointing to disruption to oil supplies, the Russia-Ukraine conflict, an outbreak of hantavirus and rapid AI developments.
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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.
"This year we saw temperatures across the UK breaking records in May, only to be exceeded again in June, and AI offers new ways for criminals to carry out cyber-attacks against us, as well as offering huge opportunities for our economy and security.
"The government will do all it can and we are well prepared – but we can all play our part to keep ourselves and our loved ones safe."
He said a nationwide resilience public awareness campaign would tell people the ways they can prepare for "emergencies and disruption - be that severe weather or a cyber-attack which can impact access to power, water, phone signal or local shops to get food".
The campaign will build on information already available on the government's website., external
As part of its emergency preparations, ministers will run a multi-day exercise, named Operation Albiston Shadow, which will test the country's ability to respond to hybrid attacks.
The country's classified crisis plans - dubbed 'war books' - are also being updated for the first time since 2004.
