UK warns of infrastructure attack risks as defence spending set to rise

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UK infrastructure attack risks

Highlights

Defence Secretary Wes Streeting warns of rising 'state-sponsored terrorism' threatening UK critical infrastructure, payment systems, and supply chains.
Streeting announces military spending will rise to 3.5% of GDP in next year's review, with expectations of ongoing defence investment increases.
UK government urges citizens to prepare for emergencies as European states report increased sabotage and cyber-attack risks, specifically citing recent Russian-linked incidents.

Resilience warning and defence agenda

As reported by The Guardian, Defence Secretary Wes Streeting says the UK should prepare for what he describes as "state-sponsored terrorism" targeting critical everyday infrastructure, including payment systems and supply chains.

Speaking on Thursday, Streeting says households and businesses should consider how they would respond to hybrid warfare risks such as cyber-attacks, as well as natural threats including flooding and wildfires. He argues that terms such as hybrid warfare and grey zone threats do not clearly convey the scale of the danger to the public, and says the threats are real and increasingly affecting the UK.

Streeting makes the comments while opening a new tank gun barrel factory in Telford, in the West Midlands, owned by German manufacturer Rheinmetall. The site forms part of wider efforts to accelerate rearmament in response to Russian military threats, while also underlining concern about sabotage and disruption that fall short of open war.

Budget outlook and wider security implications

European governments have become more vocal about sabotage risks linked to hostile states, particularly Russia, amid incidents including an explosives-laden drone found near a Ukrainian cargo plane at Germany's Leipzig airport in August and a series of unexplained explosions and fires at defence facilities.

The UK government indicated in August that citizens will be advised to stock up on tinned food and take other steps to prepare for national emergencies. Streeting's remarks also come less than a week before the first budget under Andy Burnham and his chancellor, John Healey.

Streeting says Healey will set out plans in next year's spending review to raise military spending to 3.5% of GDP. He also says he expects continued increases in defence investment, framing stronger resilience and higher military outlays as connected parts of the government's security strategy.

Our earlier article on the Bank of England’s push for “bare metal” recovery planning explained why major UK banks are being urged to build independent fallback systems that can keep core services running if primary technology is compromised. It highlighted concerns that AI is increasing the scale and complexity of cyber attacks, making end-to-end recovery and operational resilience—not just perimeter defences—a top priority for financial stability.

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