Government urges UK households to prepare for national emergencies

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 25 Oct, 20:43 · Archive

The UK Government has launched a Be Ready campaign urging households to stockpile supplies including water, food and toilet paper.

The UK Government has launched the Be Ready campaign to encourage households to prepare for potential national emergencies. The campaign recommends that people stockpile bottled water, canned goods and toilet paper to sustain themselves for 72 hours during a disaster.

Defence Secretary Wes Streeting heads the campaign, which reflects government concerns about a range of risks facing Britain, from natural disasters to foreign threats. The campaign's logic is that advance preparation is preferable to emergency response after a crisis strikes.

The Daily Mail's sketch writer questions the campaign's messaging strategy, arguing that positioning Streeting as the face of the effort may heighten public alarm rather than encourage sensible preparedness. The columnist also notes the irony of the government now promoting what would previously have been associated with panic-buying and doomsday prepping.

How it is being reported

• STEPHEN DAISLEY: If ministers insist on talking down to us on disaster preparedness, they should Be Ready for folk to stop listeningAndy Burnham hasn't even been Prime Minister for 100 days and already they're advising us to stockpile bottled water and toilet paper.Daily Mail · 25 Oct, 20:27
• What essentials to keep, what rubbish to get rid of? Burnham, Badenoch, Farage don’t know either | Robert HuttonAfter a fractious week, they probably agree that no one at all needs Liz Truss’s new book, but then the political housekeeping decisions get much harder What are you stockpiling? Wes Streeting says we need water and food to last 72 hours in case of national emergency, as well as wind-up radios so that we can check in on how the apocalypse is developing in Ambridge. Personally, I have a two-week supply of jokes about the government that I can draw upon even as the zombies break down my front door. Andy Burnham, far from stockpiling, is busy chucking stuff out. This week Labour’s much…The Guardian · 24 Oct, 08:00

In this story: Andy Burnham · Wes Streeting · Kemi Badenoch · UK Government · Britain

This summary was written by AI from the headlines and standfirsts above, and states as fact only what at least two outlets report. How we use AI · Report a problem