How ready is the UK for conflict as all government departments told to update ‘war book’?

The UK is working on new plans in the event of a military attack

According to the latest reports, this will happen through a move to update something called the war book.

In an interview for Sky News, the former armed forces minister Al Carns has revealed that by the end of 2026 this significant body of work is set to be completed.

The old Government War Book contains a series of national plans which set out the internal measures that would be triggered in the event of conflict.

This complemented a wider set of NATO war plans, which were designed for confrontation between the alliance and the Soviet Union at the time.

How seriously national defence planning was once taken by the UK can be found in a 1976 copy of the war book.

What is the war book and what it contains - explained

The Government War Book was a secret document containing comprehensive plans for the defence of the UK in the event of war.

The book, which is stored at the National Archives in Kew, west London and contains detailed lists, was created during the First World War.

With fewer than 100 copies being held across government in 1964, access to copies of the war book were tightly restricted.

As of 1966, the war book had 16 chapters, covering all aspects of national defence including military, civil, economic, and diplomatic aspects, and the preservation of the mechanisms of government.

This year, it was revealed that as of January, Britain still did not currently have any comprehensive national war plan similar to the previous Government War Books.

Chief of the Defence Staff Sir Richard Knighton revealed earlier this year that the government was working on a new version of the Government War Books, but “in a modern context, with a modern society, with modern infrastructure”.

The UK’s more belated push to refresh its war books is being led by the Cabinet Office.

It is next year when the plans will then be tested in a home defence exercise, as announced during the final days of Keir Starmer’s government in July.

The Cabinet Office, in a report that was released at the time, said: “It is expected to involve hundreds of officials, including crisis operations teams, [and] home defence and resilience planning teams from across government”.

Among other things, the war in Ukraine has resurrected the possibility of conflict involving the UK.

This has prompted the government to resurrect the “War Book” as part of its wider Home Defence programme.

With the Soviet Union long gone, Russia is now one of the UK’s biggest threats

The Ministry of Defence has very recently responded amid reports that there are fears Vladimir Putin will mobilise more troops and increase hybrid attacks on NATO.

Defence Secretary Wes Streeting said that “the threats we face are not only evolving, they are getting closer to home.”

“Every day, the UK and our allies encounter espionage, cyberattacks and military posturing by hostile states. Along these threats comes the bellicose rhetoric we hear from the Kremlin”, Streeting said.

“Russia is constantly probing us and testing us. Russia sees the UK and NATO as a threat which in reality simply doesn’t exist. The UK is not at war with Russia, nor do we seek confrontation with Russia”, he added.

In case of any attack on a NATO ally, the defence secretary said that the UK is ready to defend.

“Moscow should be in no doubt we are ready to defend every inch of NATO, should Russia attack”, Streeting said.

Vladimir Putin is reportedly preparing to intensify hybrid attacks on Kyiv’s allies in Europe, in addition to escalating his war against Ukraine.

As per The Telegraph, Western intelligence officials believe the Russian leader is laying the ground for a “stealth mobilisation”.