Britons will be urged to stock up on tinned food and bottled water in new ‘national resilience campaign’ by Government to prepare for risk of extreme weather or cyber attacks
The UK Government is preparing a new "national resilience campaign" urging households to stock up on essentials such as tinned food and bottled water, in case of severe disruption from extreme weather, cyber attacks or hostile state action. The move forms part of a broader push to strengthen Britain's preparedness for major crises, reflecting growing concern within Whitehall about threats to power, water and food supplies, and comes as officials stress the advice will be framed as common sense rather than scaremongering.
A Government source told the Financial Times that the campaign will offer practical guidance on simple steps to boost domestic resilience, while ministers are also updating the "war book" that governs departmental responses to major threats and planning the largest home defence exercise in decades for next year. The announcement follows recent developments including Andy Burnham's decision to send an emergency mobile alert across England and Wales over wildfire risks, and revelations that Iran-linked hackers disabled a UK power plant last month. A Cabinet Office spokesman said safeguarding national security remains the Government's top priority, alongside efforts to raise public awareness and advance the Home Defence Programme.
- Government to urge Britons to stockpile tinned food and bottled water.
- Campaign aims to boost resilience against cyber attacks and extreme weather.
- Follows wildfire mobile alert and Iran-linked hack on a UK power plant.
Both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Advocates argue that encouraging households to keep basic supplies is sensible, low-cost preparedness rather than alarmism, pointing to real vulnerabilities exposed by wildfires, power-grid hacks and ageing infrastructure. They see it as responsible governance to normalise resilience the way other countries already do, empowering citizens to cope with short-term disruption without waiting for the state to intervene. Framing the advice as common sense, they argue, builds public confidence and reduces panic when genuine emergencies occur, rather than leaving people caught out.
The case against
Sceptics worry that a national campaign urging people to stockpile tinned food and water risks stoking unnecessary anxiety and signalling that the Government expects imminent crisis, even if officials insist otherwise. They argue that such messaging could distract from the more pressing task of actually shoring up energy, water and cyber infrastructure, effectively shifting responsibility for state resilience onto individual households. Some also question whether the timing and scale of the campaign, alongside war-book updates and defence exercises, reflects proportionate caution or overstates threats in ways that erode public trust.
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