UK must prepare for hybrid attacks on infrastructure, says Streeting
UK defence secretary Wes Streeting has urged the public to consider how to respond to attacks by hostile states on everyday infrastructure. He spoke on 22 October as part of a national conversation on resilience in emergencies.
Britain's defence secretary, Wes Streeting, said on Thursday 22 October that the country should prepare for “state-sponsored terrorism” by hostile powers targeting everyday infrastructure. He framed the warning as part of a national conversation about how ready the public is for emergencies.
Streeting asked people to think about how they would respond to hybrid warfare risks. His examples included cyber-attacks that could knock out payment systems used by businesses or cause supply chains to collapse. He also pointed to natural risks such as flooding and wildfires.
European concern over sabotage
European states have become more vocal about sabotage by adversaries, Russia in particular, which can disrupt daily life or directly threaten safety. Examples cited include an explosives-laden drone found beside a Ukrainian cargo plane at Leipzig airport in Germany in August, and a series of unexplained explosions and fires at defence facilities.
Streeting was speaking at a new tank gun barrel factory in Telford, in the West Midlands. The plant is owned by the German manufacturer Rheinmetall and forms part of efforts to speed up rearmament in the face of Russian military threats. He stressed that the public should also be ready for hybrid warfare, meaning sabotage that stops short of outright war.
He said terms such as hybrid warfare and grey zone threats do not convey the reality to the public, and that he prefers “state-sponsored terrorism”. In his words, the threats are real rather than hypothetical, and increasingly present in Britain. He said households and businesses should be asked whether they are prepared and know how they would react to everyday challenges.
The government indicated in August that UK citizens will be told to stock up on tinned food and take other steps to prepare for national emergencies.
Defence spending
Streeting's remarks came less than a week before the first budget under Andy Burnham and his chancellor, John Healey. The defence secretary said Healey would set out plans to raise military spending to 3.5% of GDP in next year's spending review.
