Preparing the country for war is the best way to maximize the chances of peace but the UK is “far behind”, a former defense secretary has warned.
James Shippey said the refusal of many departments to take part in a “whole of government” exercise to practice evacuating to bunkers in the event of war showed how foreign the concept of armed conflict had become to most officials in Whitehall. .
Shippy wrote in an article in The Sunday Telegraph that it was an exercise promoted by former defense secretary Ben Wallace to “get people into bunkers so they could see their work in the war environment”.
“In the end, and frustratingly, only the Minister of Defense, senior military officers and Defense Department officials attended.”
Mr Shippy said it was a shame because the exercise “would expose how outdated many of our current procedures are”. Resigned as Armed Forces Minister last monthexplain.
His draconian intervention comes after Sky News revealed this week that the government had No national plan for UK defence or mobilizing its people and industry for war despite the renewed threat of conflict.
In a series called ‘Ready for War?’ – Sky News explores the UK’s readiness for the possibility of armed conflict
Officials have begun working on a cross-government “defence plan” as ministers warn Britain has entered a “pre-war world”.
But sources told Sky News that any shift back to a Cold War-style, war-ready state would require political leaders to once again make defense a truly national endeavour.
Mr Shippy said there must be a renewed focus on strategic resilience – such as ensuring food and energy supplies and repurposing industry to make weapons – as well as more defense funding.
Piling pressure Rishi SunakHe wrote: “Only a foolish Prime Minister would fail to see the long-term trend of global instability, which could easily lead to a new Cold War, possibly even a hotter one.
“Preparing for war now by increasing defense spending and focusing on our strategic resiliency is the best way to maximize our chances for peace.”
From February: Britain’s “combat readiness” is in question
Shippi said he did not believe World War III was imminent, but he had high praise for how Sweden prepared its citizens for a potential conflict.
He described receiving a pamphlet from Sweden’s civil defense minister that explained what citizens should do in time of war, including what items they should have on hand.
“He gave me a pamphlet and I have since put it on my desk. It was a stark reminder that war is a national effort and, frankly, in Britain we were far behind.”
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During the bunker exercise, the former minister said all secretaries of state – not just the defense secretary – had a desk and bed ready in the bunker.
This is not to say that they would survive a nuclear attack “in order to repopulate our islands after the apocalypse,” but “because their sector is as integral to the war effort as the Department of Defense.”
It was a fundamental part of government work during the Cold War—a discipline that, despite new threats, has all but disappeared. Russia After Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the war in Ukraine middle East and worries China.
“I suspect there are many cabinet ministers who don’t even know where their desk or bed is in the bunker,” Shippy wrote.
“There might even be one or two people who don’t even know where the bunkers are!”
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Britain once built a large network of bunkers during the Cold War to help maintain some form of regional government in the event of a Soviet nuclear attack.
However, most underground safe houses ceased use after the end of the Cold War in the 1990s.
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