The prime minister of the UK has called on people to stockpile tinned food and bottled water in preparation for crises.
Storms hammer the UK In the wake of online disruption caused by a significant security hole Andy Burnham remarked “unexpected events seem to be becoming more and more common”.
The government has advised homes to keep bottled water and tinned food for three days, in the event of a catastrophe such as a war, an internet assault or a natural disaster.
“It’s not about panicking,” Burnham said. “It’s just about taking sensible steps to have enough in the house to see you through if there is a difficult situation.”
Housing Secretary Angela Rayner joked last month at Labour’s conference that her emergency box, exterior would contain a bottle of wine.
She stated she would bring, “Mascara, concealer, I don’t know, a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc, a tin of baked beans because you’ve gotta have some baked beans, and I like a good tin of custard as well so I think that’ll keep me going for a while.”
“Well, I’m not sure a bottle of wine is your best first port of call if you’re in a slightly crisis situation, but it probably helps when you’ve done the hard work,” Burnham told BBC Radio 5 Live’s Matt Chorley when asked if he agreed.But I guess I’ll stick to the essentials. I do like my beans so I have plenty of those in the cupboard, plus soup.”I think those are the kind of things I would recommend folks have, as well as Twiglets, I’m not sure I can get by for too long without those.”
Last month, the National Audit Office (NAO) warned that Britain’s food supply chain was at risk because of the growing threat of cyber-attacks and the climate crisis, and said the Department for Food, the Environment and Rural Affairs (Defra) had not done enough in recent years to improve supply chain resilience.
The chief executive of the Cold Chain Federation, the body for enterprises moving temperature-controlled commodities, also told the BBC that Russian cyber-hackers are targeting the UK “knowing that there are pinch points in the food supply system”.
Burnham denied the government had failed to properly prepare, saying: “No, we’re having the conversation with people about being better prepared because we’re living in a world where unexpected events seem to be becoming more and more common.Weather events obviously, and we’re in a scenario today where the UK is suffering storms and clearly we feel for the people without power in Cornwall right now.It’s just having those goods in the house to help you through those situations. So we’re having that discussion on resilience.”
What do I need to hoard and why?
The government has put out a check list, recommending nine litres of water per person – enough for three days – and non-perishable food such as tinned meat and vegetables or dried fruit.
Get a battery or wind up FM radio is recommended by the government. In a national catastrophe the BBC would prioritise transmitting news, health and safety information. In case of a catastrophic power interruption FM radio will be the best means to receive these updates.”
The list also recommends hand sanitiser, moist wipes and toiletries, food for any pets, provisions for any babies, a lamp, blankets, a charged power bank for electronics, cash in case payment systems crash, a first aid kit and copies of key documents.
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