The UK Must ‘Actively Prepare’ for War

The National Security Strategy warns against the possibility of war on British soil. Image Credit: PICRYL

The UK must ‘actively prepare for the possibility of the UK coming under a direct threat, potentially in a wartime scenario’, according to a government review.

The review - the National Security Strategy - was issued in response to the growing turmoil in the Middle East and the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian war, and only 48 hours after Iran threatened to target UK military bases after the American attack on its nuclear facilities.

The strategy refers to ‘Iranian hostile activity on British soil’, warning against ‘adversaries’ planning how to disrupt energy or supply chains. Likewise, it says how ‘adversaries’ were spreading disinformation and using social media to raise ‘tensions between generations, genders and ethnic groups’.

Speaking at the House of Commons, Cabinet Office minister McFadden also described the threat posed by China as ‘sophisticated and persistent’, describing the country’s power as ‘an inescapable fact’.

The review also calls for an ‘all-of-society effort’, stating that the country has to ‘pull together’. It advises that the public should be tested with ‘annual national exercises’ in order to prepare, although there is no details are given on what this may be.

The UK’s Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, has announced he will commit 5% of GDP to defense and national security by 2035, along with the other leaders of the 32 NATO nations.

However, McFadden remains positive. He describes the UK’s approach as ‘progressive realism’, stating that the UK will adapt to the circumstances they face, but will not compromise on national security.