- Heappey criticizes government for neglecting shelter evacuation drills
- UK warned it’s “very far behind” in war preparation
- Lack of national strategy despite renewed conflict threats
James Heappey, a former minister of the armed forces, wrote that numerous government agencies had neglected to conduct shelter evacuation drills.
Preparing the nation for war is the best way to increase the likelihood of peace; however, a former defence minister has warned that the United Kingdom is “very far behind.”
As an indication of how foreign the concept of homeland defence has become to Downing Street and the Cabinet Office, James Heappey stated that officials declined to participate in a “whole of government” bunker evacuation drill in preparation for conflict.
Mr Heappey wrote in an article for the Sunday Telegraph that former Defence Secretary Ben Wallace had advocated for the exercise “to get people down to the bunker so they could see what their working environment would be like in wartime.”
Ultimately, only senior military officers, defence ministers, and MoD (Ministry of Defence) officials took part, which was rather discouraging.
This was unfortunate, as the exercise “would have revealed how obsolete many of our current procedures are,” according to Mr Heappey, who resigned as minister of the armed forces last month.
Despite renewed threats of conflict, the government has no national strategy for the defence of the United Kingdom or the mobilisation of its people and industry in the event of war.
The development of a cross-government “national defence plan” has commenced in response to ministerial warnings that the United Kingdom has entered a “pre-war era.”
However, according to sources, a return to a Cold Conflict-style preparedness for conflict would necessitate that political leaders once more establish defence as a genuinely national endeavour.
Mr Heappey stated that in addition to increasing funding for defence, a renewed emphasis must be placed on strategic resilience, including securing food and energy supplies and repurposing industry to manufacture weapons.
Placing additional strain on Rishi Sunak, he penned the following: “A foolish prime minister would fail to recognise that the enduring pattern is one of worldwide instability, which may soon give way to a renewed cold war or even something more severe.”
To optimise the likelihood of achieving peace, we must commence war preparations immediately by augmenting defence expenditures and prioritising strategic resilience.
Mr Heappey stated that he did not believe a third world war was imminent, but he lauded Sweden’s efforts to prepare its citizens for the possibility of conflict.
The individual recounted obtaining a pamphlet from the Swedish minister of civil defence that detailed the proper conduct of citizens during a state of war, including the type of provisions they ought to carry.
“He presented me with a copy of that document, which I subsequently retained on my desk. “It serves as a stark reminder that war is a national endeavour, and to be completely honest, the United Kingdom is far behind.”
The former minister stated during the bunker exercise that all secretaries of state, not just those of defence, have a cot and a desk prepared for them in a bunker.
This is not in order to repopulate our islands after the catastrophe or ensure their ability to withstand a nuclear attack, but rather “because their departments are as vital to the war effort as the MoD.”
It was an essential component of government employment during the Cold War; however, despite renewed threats from Russia subsequent to Vladimir Putin’s complete invasion of Ukraine, conflicts in the Middle East, and apprehensions regarding China, this discipline has virtually vanished.
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Mr Heappey wrote, “I suspect there are a significant number of cabinet ministers who are unaware of the location of their bunker desks or beds.”
There may even be one or two individuals who need to be made aware of the location of the shelter!
Historically, the United Kingdom maintained a vast network of bunkers constructed during the Cold War to sustain regional administrations in the event of a Soviet nuclear attack.
The majority of these underground safehouses ceased operations in the 1990s following the end of the Cold War.
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