Emergency plans for attack on Britain sped up over fears of Russian strike

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Britons have been told to stockpile supplies and brace for an attack on a critical sector

"Civil defence" planning for a national crisis has been pushed forward amid fears Vladimir Putin could launch an attack on Britain.

The Cabinet Office has been urged to accelerate planning for Britain's home defence programme after a week of chilling threats from Moscow.

The scheme is designed to join up military and civilian planning for national emergencies.

It is spearheaded by national emergency committee COBR, and includes plans for how the Government would transform Britain during a national crisis or conflict.

Plans for certain aspects of the homeland defences had previously been given a deadline of 2035 - but sources have indicated that this has now been brought forward to 2030, according The Telegraph.

However, the insider did not reveal to the newspaper which elements of the plans had been accelerated over confidentiality concerns.

“We do need to accelerate preparedness in a range of threat areas, which means in the next few years, not the next decade," they said.

Next year, COBR will stage "Operation Albiston Shadow" in the largest-ever national home defence exercise, which will ensure the whole country is "ready" in case of an attack.

The aim of the simulation is to prepare the country for war - and it will come alongside a public campaign to raise awareness about the importance of protecting the nation.

Last month, ministers expanded the national risk register to include seven additional crisis scenarios.

Downing Street called on the public to begin making "small but important steps" to safeguard access to water, electricity and mobile phone connectivity in preparation for potential emergencies.

The Government also announced the national public awareness campaign designed to help households prepare for crises, "be that severe weather or a cyber-attack which can impact access to power, water, phone signal or local shops to get food".

Among the newly-identified threats are the danger of foreign powers interfering in elections and potential cyber-attacks targeting data systems, water infrastructure and police networks.

Earlier this year, Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton, the head of the Armed Forces, confirmed that Britain would be reviving its Cold War-era Government War Book to prepare the nation for potential war.

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The updated document will ready the military, police, hospitals and industry for a transition to war.

Sir Richard said the new version would require people to think differently about resilience, drawing on lessons from the Cold War but "in a modern context, with a modern society, with modern infrastructure".

The acceleration of civil defence planning comes just days after former Russian deputy foreign minister and adviser to Vladimir Putin, Andrei Fedorov, told BBC Newsnight he could not "100 per cent exclude" the possibility of "semi-military action" against Britain.

The top Russian official issued the stark warning after Ukraine handed Britain unprecedented access to an "intelligence goldmine" in order to thwart espionage plans by Russia.

Kyiv allowed Britain to become the first country to access the classified "Avengers" artificial intelligence database.

The agreement, signed by Volodymyr Zelensky and Prime Minister Andy Burnham in Kyiv, hands the Ministry of Defence millions of images depicting Russian tanks, air defence systems, infantry, drones and artillery pieces.

Fears are also growing over the threat to Britain posed by Iran after hackers linked to the Islamic Republic's regime shut down a British power plant for four days.

The unprecedented attack, revealed on Sunday, is thought to be the first time Iran-affiliated hackers have managed to disable such a facility in the UK.

A Government spokesman said: “The Government has been running the home defence programme since 2024, ensuring the country is fully prepared to deal with a variety of threats.

"Safeguarding national security is the first priority of any government, and we routinely plan for a range of scenarios as a vital part of maintaining our preparedness.”