WES STREETING URGES BRITAIN TO PREPARE FOR WAR BY 2030

Defence Secretary Wes Streeting has urged Britain to prepare for a possible attack by 2030. He said adversaries could develop the military strength and wartime economy to attack the UK by then. “That gives us a little over 1,000 days to complete our mission: to be ready with our allies to fight and win,” he wrote. Streeting said Britain must expand its capabilities to deter an attack and prepare to fight if deterrence fails. He identified Russia as a potential source of aggression.

The government is urging households to keep food, water and other supplies for emergencies that could disrupt essential services. Its advice includes up to nine litres of bottled water and three days’ worth of food, alongside blankets, cash, a first-aid kit, a torch and a wind-up radio. Prime Minister Andy Burnham said people should keep enough at home to manage through a difficult situation. Streeting also warned of what he called “state-sponsored terrorism” from Russia. MI5 director general Sir Ken McCallum has called for a “whole-of-society effort” to protect national infrastructure from threats including cyber attacks.

Streeting’s comments come before Chancellor John Healey’s Budget on Wednesday, 28 October, when the government’s plans for military funding will face scrutiny. Healey previously resigned as defence secretary, saying the government had failed to commit the resources he considered necessary. Conservative opposition leader Kemi Badenoch has proposed raising defence spending to 3% of GDP by the end of the decade through cuts to welfare and other budgets. She has accused Burnham of delaying a decision on defence spending. Streeting said a “fixation with percentages and dates” risked obscuring the wider task of preparing the country.