‘Home Guard' to protect UK from infrastructure attack
A home guard will be established to protect British power plants and airports against attack from enemy states and terrorists, under plans put forward in the government's strategic defence review (SDR).
It will be modelled on the citizens' militia created in 1940, when Britain faced the prospect of invasion by Nazi Germany during the Second World War.
It would be made up of several thousand volunteers, who would be deployed to safeguard assets such as nuclear power plants, telecommunications sites and the coastal hubs where internet cables connecting Britain to the rest of the world come onto land.
Guards could also be deployed to other sensitive sites, such as energy stations providing power to major airports, with senior sources pointing to the recent fire that
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
30 minutes ago
- BBC News
Zia Yusuf: Reform UK burka row is 'storm in a teacup'
Former Reform UK chairman Zia Yusuf has called a row over a social media post - in which he said it was "dumb" for one of his MPs to call for a burka ban - a "storm in a teacup". Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Yusuf said he regretted the post and that "exhaustion led to a poor decision". Shortly after criticising MP Sarah Pochin, Yusuf quit as chairman saying that trying to get Reform UK elected was not "a good use of my time".However, two days later he returned to work for the party albeit in a different role, leading the party's Doge unit, a team inspired by the US Department of Government Efficiency, set up by President Donald Trump and Elon Musk. The initiative aims to cut wasteful spending in the councils Reform now why he had resigned as chairman, Yusuf said: "I've been working pretty much non-stop, virtually no days off."It is very difficult to keep going at that pace."He said one of the reasons he had "changed his decision so quickly" and returned to work for the party, was that he had been "inundated" by supportive messages from Reform voters and members. The series of events began last Wednesday when Pochin, the newly-elected MP for Runcorn and Helsby, asked Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer if he would join France and Denmark in banning the burka, a veil worn by some Muslim women that covers the face and body, "in the interests of public safety".The following day Yusuf, who is a Muslim, posted on X: "I do think it's dumb for a party to ask the PM if they would do something the party itself wouldn't do".Speaking to the BBC on Monday, Yusuf said "the thing that frustrated me at the time" was that Pochin had not chosen to ask something that was party for his views on a ban, he said: "If I was an MP I would think about it very deeply, I think I probably would be in favour of banning face coverings in public writ large, not just the burka."I'm very queasy and uneasy about banning things that for example would be unconstitutional in the US but we have a particular situation in the UK."He said he did not believe Islam was "a threat to the country" but added that the UK had "a problem with assimilation". Over the weekend, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch was also asked her views on banning the burka. She told the Telegraph: "People should be allowed to wear whatever they want, not what their husband is asking them to wear or what their community says that they should wear."However, she said that organisations should be able to decide what their staff wear and that she asked people coming to her constituency surgeries to remove face coverings "whether it's a burka or a balaclava". "I'm not talking to people who are not going to show me their face," she Muslim Council of Britain accused her of "desperation" adding: "Kemi Badenoch isn't setting the agenda - she's scrambling to keep up with Reform UK's divisive rhetoric."
Reuters
34 minutes ago
- Reuters
Breaking News Headlines Latest Views
China hit back hard against the president's tariffs while Britain's speedy deal favoured the US. The European Union cannot afford to antagonise Trump, in part because of Ukraine, but does not need to grovel. If it cannot strike a good accord quickly, it should play the long game.
Daily Mirror
38 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
Keir Starmer says 'AI makes us more human' as he unveils new tech tool
Keir Starmer has insisted artificial intelligence 'makes us more human' in a keynote speech setting out his plans to use tech to create a 'better future' for generations to come Keir Starmer has insisted artificial intelligence "makes us more human" in a keynote speech. The PM suggested the tech could help workers spend more time on face-to-face help - instead of spending many hours filling out forms. It came as Mr Starmer said a new AI tool - 'Extract' - will also help speed up planning permission for new homes by scanning hundreds of files in a second. The government said it will slash 250,000 hours spent by planning officers manually checking documents - freeing up valuable time. Mr Starmer said the tool was already being trialled in councils including Exeter and Nuneaton. Addressing London tech week, he said: "What it does is take old hand-written planning documents and puts them into digital form within seconds. So jobs that otherwise would have taken hours and hours done in seconds. We want to roll that out across the country." Keir Starmer unveils plan to help one million schoolkids in major tech drive During the event Mr Starmer also said a social worker told him at a No10 reception that AI had helped her concentrate on the "human element" of the job". He added: "I've always said AI and tech makes us more human, which sounds an odd thing to say, but it's true. We need to say it because... some people out there are sceptical. They do worry about AI taking their job." But he added: "I believe the way that we work through this together is critical." Mr Starmer also said youngsters will be able to access more job opportunities in tech under a major drive to skill up Britain. The PM announced plans to help around one million school-age children gain skills in technology under a new TechFirst scheme. It will help to prepare kids should they want to become AI engineers, computer scientists or data analysts in the future. Mr Starmer has said that within the coming years the Government should be able to "look every parent in the eye" and pledge that tech can create a "better future" for their children. Speaking on Monday, he said: "By the end of this Parliament we should be able to look every parent in the eye in every region in Britain and say 'look what technology can deliver for you'. "We can put money in your pocket, we can create wealth in your community, we can create good jobs, vastly improve our public services, and build a better future for your children. That, to me, is the opportunity we must seize. That's what my plan for change will deliver and, today, I think we're taking another big step towards it."
