Keir Starmer prepares for cyber war with Russia

The UK is secretly refreshing its strategy for an attack by Russia amid concerns the country is not prepared for war, it has been reported.

Reflecting ongoing tensions with the Kremlin, the Cabinet Office’s Resilience Directorate is set to update decades old contingency plans to ensure the UK can respond to threats of attack by hostile foreign states.

Last updated in 2005, the existing document does not consider current top threats such as cyber-attacks on critical national infrastructure including gas terminals, undersea cables, nuclear power plans and transport hubs.

First reported by The Telegraph, the update to the classified “homeland defence plan” will outline a strategy for the days after an attack on the UK mainland. It will include scenarios in which the UK is hit by cyber incidents, as well as conventional missiles and nuclear warheads.

A risk assessment published in January found that a successful attack was “likely to result in civilian fatalities as well as members of the emergency services”, seriously impacting the economy and disrupting essential services.

The strategy will address cyber warfare for the first time – which spy chiefs believe is now one of the most dangerous threats the UK faces.

It comes as three major British retailers continue to deal with the repercussions of three major cyber incidents. Marks & Spencer has lost millions in revenue and Co-op has said hackers accessed a “significant” amount of customer data following the attacks.

And it follows from the minister of intergovernmental relations Pat McFadden warning Nato members of a looming Russian cyber-attack that could shut down the power grid and "turn the lights off for millions of people” .

The new contingency plans are expected to outline how the prime minister and his cabinet should run a wartime government and when they should seek shelter in the Downing Street bunker or outside London.

War strategies for the rail and road networks, courts, postal system and phone lines are also expected to be reviewed.

Holyrood has contacted the Ministry of Defence for comment.