Brits should be stock piling these three things, according to Defence Secretary
Cash, bottled water and tins of food could soon be sitting in a cupboard near you, if UK Defence Secretary Wes Streeting gets his way.
Streeting has urged people across Britain to build up a basic emergency stash at home, warning that the country is facing heightened risks from hostile states, cyberattacks and increasingly extreme weather.
Speaking to The Sun on Sunday ahead of the Labour Party conference, he said the request boils down to a few simple precautions rather than anything drastic.
'It's not a big ask, it's just a simple ask of people,' he said, pointing to scenarios like losing access to online banking or being hit by a power cut.
Advert
The comments come as Streeting pushes for what he's calling a 'whole society approach' to national resilience, arguing that Britain isn't as prepared for disruption as it should be, even in areas that already deal with recurring floods or fires.
What does Wes Streeting want people to stockpile?
According to Streeting, the essentials are straightforward: cash in case of a banking outage, bottled water, and tinned goods that don't need to be cooked on a hob or in a microwave if the electricity goes down.
He noted that plenty of households probably already have some of this sitting around without thinking of it as emergency prep.
"It's having some cash at home, having a supply of bottled water indoors, having some tinned goods that you can access if your electric goes and you're not able to cook on the hob or in the microwave," he told the paper.
"These are basic things, and of course, you know, a lot of people just have that in their cupboard naturally."
He was keen to stress that the advice isn't meant to spook anyone. Streeting said he wants the public to be 'alert not alarmed,' acknowledging that raising the topic at all risks people overreacting or questioning why it matters now.
This isn't the first time the government has floated this kind of guidance.
Officials have previously published a list of recommended emergency supplies for every household, including a first aid kit, spare batteries, a torch and a wind-up radio.
Streeting's warning ties into a broader picture of risk he says spans both man-made and natural threats - everything from acts of terrorism and cyberwarfare to wildfires and flooding.
He framed individual preparedness as something that strengthens the country as a whole, regardless of what kind of emergency actually hits.
"There is always a risk when you have these conversations that people overreact," he said, 'but resilience is always important for a country.'
Thomas Bamford