The UK has to “actively prepare” for the potential of a “wartime scenario” in its homeland, a national security strategy has warned.
Published today, the National Security Strategy said it was “the first time in many years” that such an event has had to be considered.
It comes as Sky News recently explored what a Russian attack on Britain looked like in The Wargame podcast.
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The review highlighted Russia and Iran as potential threats, including saying that the latter’s “hostile activity” on British soil is increasing in an effort to “silence critics” as well as “directly threatening the UK”.
It added: “Meanwhile, some adversaries are laying the foundations for future conflict, positioning themselves to move quickly to cause major disruption to our energy and or supply chains, to deter us from standing up to their aggression.”
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Sky’s Beth Rigby breaks down what this actually means and what the implications are for the Prime Minister
Responding to the report, Sir Keir Starmer said the UK is “facing daily challenges on the home front”
The prime minister told Sky News’ political editor Beth Rigby that Britain is being targeted by “very, very frequent and very, very serious” cyberattacks
Energy security is also a concern following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, while the PM also cited the threat of Iran.
“We have to guard properly against those threats, and we will do so,” Starmer added.
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The government will run annual exercises to test the preparedness of the whole of society as part of efforts to rebuild resilience, the new strategy says.
There will also be moves to improve security around critical national infrastructure such as power stations and water supplies as part of what is being called “Home Defence”.
However, the review concedes that “we cannot stop every hostile actor”.
Instead it says the UK will try to “make the UK a harder target for adversaries and criminals”.
Inside The Wargame
An armed attack on the UK is exactly the scenario that a new podcast series by Sky News and Tortoise explore.
The Wargame simulates Russian missiles strikes against targets across the country to test UK defences.
The podcast also draws on the UK’s Cold War past.
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What if Russia attacked the UK?
During the time of the Soviet Union, Britain, like much of the rest of NATO, maintained a much larger professional army, navy and air force, with greater stockpiles of munitions, a bigger reserve force and a far more comprehensive air defence system. This was all kept at a state of readiness that meant the UK could immediately respond to war breaking out.
At the same time, wider society was better prepared for conflict – including nuclear war.
They also understood the need to allocate more taxpayer cash into funding defence as the ultimate insurance policy.
When the Cold War ended though, successive governments took what was seen as a peace dividend, switching investment away from defence and into other priorities such as health, welfare and economic growth.
With Britain now facing renewed threats to the home front but without the resilience it relied on in the past, The Wargame plays out what might happen in a crisis.
