Countries including Sweden, Finland and Norway are handing out pamphlets advising citizens on how to survive a potential nuclear attack – and now an expert has urged Keir Starmer to do the same
The UK government ought to release a manual warning the public how to survive to World War III, an expert has urged.
It comes as the French public is set to receive a booklet, which contains 63 measures among its 20 pages, telling them how to protect themselves and their loved ones in a number of terrifying situations, including armed conflict, a nuclear leak, and natural disasters.
Last year, countries including Sweden, Finland and Norway began distributing pamphlets advising citizens to stockpile food and water in preparation for a potential nuclear attack amid rising fears of World War III.
A total of five million copies of the 32-page Swedish booklet, titled If Crisis or War Comes, were sent to households across the country. It provided detailed instructions on how to gather supplies and find shelter in the event of war.
It told households to store food and water so they’re ready if conflict comes knocking. Meanwhile, Finland put up a government website explaining how people should prepare for a number of catastrophes.
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“An insecure world requires preparedness. The military threat to Sweden has increased and we must prepare for the worst – an armed attack,” the Swedish book states in its introduction.
Professor Anthony Glees, an academic in security and defence and a lecturer at the University of Buckingham, feels strongly that the British government should follow suit and produce “a short, decently written booklet” about what might happen in order for the public to prepare for war.
He said: “It should stress at the outset, of course, that the whole of our national defence strategy is about deterrence, that our foreign policy is defensive not offensive and that if we become as strong as we now want to be, thanks to Starmer and his European colleagues and thanks (yes!) to the goading from president Trump, then WW3 can surely be averted.”
The Professor highlighted that the booklet should include details of how events could unfold, what might happen, including cyber attacks, drone attacks and possibly missile strikes.
“The government would have to admit that we are woefully lacking in ‘Iron Dome’ systems round our key cities, as I understand we have five warships that could intercept incoming missiles but one or two are in the Gulf and one or two are being repaired…. We have no fixed systems at all,” he claimed.
“Everything to date depends on our Vanguard subs (in a decade to be Dreadnought subs) and their Trident nukes. If they are fired it will be Armageddon day so no survivors.
“But if, more likely, there’s a conventional attack that’s something we can prepare for — a week’s supply of food, bottled water, paracetamol and loads of emergency Snickers bars as well as battery operated devices and a couple of charging units, loaded for a few days from the electricity supply which will probably be turned off.
Recalling survival tactics of his youth, Professor Glees said: “When I was a school boy, 70 years ago, we school kids were told to take cover under our desks, having painted the windows with sour milk to keep out the radiation. I think we were far more afraid of the headmaster than the Russians – it’ll be different today.
“More like the hippies used to say in the 1960s you needed to do when ‘the bomb’ dropped: ‘Bend over, and then kiss your ass goodbye.'”
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