Government launches new push to prepare UK for emergencies and hostile acts

The government is launching a new push to prepare the UK to be more resilient to any kind of emergency, Defence Secretary Wes Streeting has revealed.

He said the updated guidance would encourage households to be better prepared for crises such as wildfires and flooding.

Mr Streeting said the public also needed to prepare for hostile acts such as "increasingly sophisticated cyber attacks".

It follows the head of the army, General Sir Roly Walker, saying last week that political leaders were about to start a "frank conversation" with the public about the need to prepare for war.

The defence secretary was speaking at the opening of a new factory to build gun barrels.

The production of barrels for tanks and artillery pieces has resumed in the UK for the first time in two decades, with a German defence firm making the weapons.

Mr Streeting officially opened the Rheinmetall "gun hall" in Telford, Shropshire.

The sprawling facility has the capacity to produce up to 245 long, metal barrels a year and more than 50 breeches - the block of metal at the rear end of the barrel.

Such numbers would be woefully inadequate were the UK ever to face a major war - but the manufacturing rate could be significantly ramped up in a time of crisis.

Ukraine says it has destroyed more than 12,000 Russian tanks and more than 5,000 artillery pieces since the start of Vladimir Putin's full-scale invasion more than four and a half years ago.

"Britain is back in the business of making the weapons that our armed forces need to defend the nation against our adversaries," the defence secretary said.

"From an empty site to full production in eight months, this is rapid reindustrialisation in action."

The new site - 11,500 square metres - has production lines for two different types of weapons system.

One is for the 120mm gun that will fit on the updated Challenger 3 tank, which has yet to enter service.

The other is a 155mm weapons system that will be used for artillery pieces.

General Sir Roly Walker also attended the factory opening along with Armin Papperger, the German chief executive of Rheinmetall AG.

Mr Papperger is thought to be on a Russian hit list.

The Kremlin is accused of seeking to assassinate key defence industry figures in Europe as part of a campaign of hostile action to undermine NATO's push to rearm and to support Ukraine.

The Rheinmetall boss said: "We are committed to investing in the UK for the long term, expanding our industrial footprint and working together to deliver the capabilities needed for the future.

"By combining Rheinmetall's expertise with British skills, innovation and manufacturing, we are strengthening the UK's sovereign industrial capacity, supporting the Armed Forces and contributing to the security of NATO and Europe."

(c) Sky News 2026: Government launches new push to prepare UK for emergencies and hostile acts