Nuclear strikes, secret bunkers for Royals, & massive cyber attacks… how Britain is secretly bracing for war with Russia
Government officials are racing to update decades-old contingency plans amid fears the nation is not ready for a potential attack from the Kremlin.
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British soldiers before the start of Steadfast Dart 2025 exercise - involving some 10,000 troops in three different countries
Credit: AP
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British soldiers practice an assault on February 17, 2025 in Smardan, Romania
Credit: Getty
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British troops load a 105MM Howitzer in Norway during war drills
Credit: PA
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Royal Marine Commandos take up position on a beach in Harvstad, Norway after swimming ashore during a training exercise
Credit: PA
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The classified "home defence plan" would lay out how Downing Street will respond if Vladimir Putin declares war on the UK, including putting the Royal Family into bunkers.
Ministers worry Britain could be outfought by Russia on the battlefield, but also poorly defended at home as things stand.
Experts have warned that the country's national infrastructure is vulnerable ahead of the release of Labour's Strategic Defence Review - an examination of the Armed Forces.
As military warfare has evolved in the past two decades, fears are that Putin could launch a combination of attacks, including conventional ballistic missile strikes, sabotage and the latest tactic in the Russian playbook - cyberwarfare.
But Britain, which is just beginning to review and revise its security and contingency plans for the first time in more than 20 years - is feared not to be fully prepared to go to war against the Russians.
Former Nato commander Colonel Hamish De Bretton-Gordon told The Sun: "Britain is very much in the sights of Putin's derision, and we are the ones likely to be attacked first.
"Britain really has got to dust off its contingency plans. Over 20 years of neglect, and we understand that's exactly what this report is about at the moment."
Retired military officer Colonel Richard Kemp, who was working in the Cabinet Office when the contingency plans were last updated, told The Sun: "Contingency plans like this should be updated frequently. Twenty years is far too long, especially given the radically changed threat picture.
"Putin has said Britain is in his crosshairs since the invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
"Even before then, he proved he was willing to attack this country, including with a nerve agent attack in Salisbury in 2018. We should take him seriously."
The classified plan by the Cabinet Office's Resilience Directorate - which was last updated in 2005 - would set out war strategies in the event of a catastrophic attack by the Russians, which could well involve tactical and strategic nuclear weapons.
The plan is based on the War Book, a Cold War dossier of instructions for government response to nuclear attacks.
Under such plans, Britain could be divided into 12 zones, each governed by Cabinet ministers, and food rationed.
The plans will include scenarios like widespread sabotage and crippling cyber warfare, which were seen as a limited threat back when the document was last updated.
It will also direct the PM on how to run a wartime government, as well as strategies for travel networks, courts and the postal system, reports the Daily Telegraph.
Although the highly-classified document is expected to never be revealed in the public domain, military experts suggest what could be changed to prepare us for a potential war against the Russians.
Colonel Bretton-Gordon said that cyber attacks will be given a major chunk of attention in the latest round of updates.
He believes the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) would be given additional funding to improve the existing measures against cyber attackers.
There is particular concern for the country's five active nuclear power stations, which if damaged by strikes, could release radioactive material across the country, resulting in long-term impact.
In the event of an all-out war against Vladimir Putin, members of the Royal family and key government officials will be sent to secret hideout bunkers to protect them.
Food circulation and modern logistics systems will be made more robust to ensure essential items can reach people whenever there is a need.
And the public will be made more aware of their wartime duties.
Bretton-Gordon added: "Plans will be to make sure our critical infrastructure is as secure as it can be.
"There will be contingency plans. If one nuclear power station goes down, then other power infrastructure can take up the slack.
"During the Cold War, the people probably had a lot of training and expertise to deal with contaminated nuclear casualties, but the situation has probably changed now.
"These are the sort of things that just need to be reviewed, so that in the event this happens, it's not a complete shock."
"We are up against an autocratic tyrant who has absolutely no concern for collateral damage or civilian casualties.
"I'm sure Putin wouldn't think twice about firing a missile, nuclear or conventional, at London cities and the UK's critical national infrastructure."
Meanwhile, Colonel Kemp warned that Russia could attack Britain in several ways that could wreak havoc on nation - and our armed forces are simply not prepared enough to fight Putin's troops.
He added: "We could be the target of large-scale ballistic missile, cruise missile, drone, cyber, chemical and even nuclear strikes as well as sabotage.
"I would hope that what has recently been happening in Ukraine and the Middle East has galvanised our leaders so that we are prepared. But we have a huge amount of ground to make up."
"The best way to avoid such things happening to us is deterring an attack. That means we need to substantially increase our own offensive as well as defensive capabilities."
NOT GOOD ENOUGH
The Cabinet Office ran a risk assessment in January in which it modelled a scenario in which a hostile foreign state launched various types of attack on the UK's infrastructure.
It found that any such successful strike could be devastating.
A senior RAF official said last month if Russia had attacked the UK in the same way as it had Ukraine more than three years ago - within hours missiles would have broken through defences and destroyed key targets.
Military experts agree that Britain's air defence systems are not adequate to thwart a large-scale missile attack.
Colonel Kemp said: "One of our major weaknesses is air defence, both for our forces and homeland defence.
"Putin has significant long-range missile and attack drone capability, which could be used against us.
"The other day, a Houthi ballistic missile from Yemen penetrated Israel's air defences and struck their international airport.
"Israel has the most comprehensive and advanced air and missile defence systems in the world.
"That shows how vulnerable any country can be to attack, and we have nothing even approaching Israel's capabilities."
Bretton-Gordon added: " I expect, as part of the Strategic Defence Review, a lot of focus will be on air defence.
"But it's not just missiles and fighter jets, the Ukraine war shows how effective drone warfare could be."
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