Should Brits be preparing to stockpile essentials or is it scaremongering?

Should Brits be preparing to stockpile essentials or is it scaremongering? The UK public have been encouraged to stockpile days' worth of food and water for crisis situations. Do you think the threat is real or is it scaremongering? Share Article Share Article Facebook X LinkedIn Reddit Bluesky Email Copy Link Link copied Add us as preferred source Comments POLL By Eleanor Burleigh 09:00, Fri, Oct 23, 2026 Updated: 09:02, Fri, Oct 23, 2026 Wes Streeting urged Brits to prepare for potential crises this week (Image: Getty) UK households are being urged to be prepared for crisis situations with three days of key supplies.

But are warnings of "disruption to essential supply chains" just scaremongering? Defence Secretary Wes Streeting sounded the alarm over "increasingly sophisticated cyber attacks" on British infrastructure on Thursday. Launching the Government's new "be ready" campaign, he said cyber incidents such as the critical security flaw in the PHP programming language that has left organisations around the world scrambling will happen "more and more".

Mr Streeting also released a checklist advising Brits to stock up on three days' worth of bottled water and non-perishable goods, a battery or wind-up FM radio to receive updates during outages and cash in case cash machines or electric payments are disrupted. Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT He said there was not a "specific thing" in mind when considering potential emergency incidents, but suggested the advice might help during power cuts or in the event of a cyber attack on local shops.

It was a matter of "everyday national resilience", he added. Accused of "scaremongering" by an audience member on BBC Question Time , the minister said: "We want people to be alert but not alarmed, and the truth is we looked around the rest of Europe, 'what are our friends doing across the continent?' They are way ahead of us on some of this stuff." Get the latest politics news - straight from our team in Westminster and more I would like to receive emails from the Daily Express featuring our latest products, services, offers, and promotions from across the Reach Plc family .

Subscribe Invalid email You agree you are 18 or over. We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you've consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. You can unsubscribe at any time. More Info . Shadow national security minister Alice Kearns also accused Mr Streeting of "lecturing the public". She said: "Preparing for emergencies is important.

But the Government should get its own house in order before lecturing the public. It isn't families that are failing to fund our defence or secure reliable energy - it's Labour." Ms Kearns added: "With rising threats to our national security, we must be ready to face all eventualities. We each have a role to play, but the Government must lead by example." Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT So what do you think? Vote in our poll and join the debate in the comments section.

Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT It comes after a "critical security issue" was discovered in PHP, software which is used by almost 70% of websites, this week. The issue could allow attackers to remotely control any web servers running PHP, according to reports. The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) urged organisations to update to a new, fixed version of PHP or consider taking their websites offline if unable to upgrade immediately.

Attempts at exploiting the disruption were spotted within hours of it being announced, according to Amazon and Cloudfare. Thirty-two Government services went offline and two were partially unavailable while work was carried out to address potential cyber-security issues, a minister said. A Government spokesperson added: "Work is already under way across Government to actively identify and patch any potential exposure. We encourage all organisations - private and public, large and small - to follow guidance issued by the NCSC to understand their exposure and take the necessary actions to safeguard their systems."

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