Defence Secretary Wes Streeting has warned that Britain must be better prepared for disruption to everyday services caused by hostile states, terrorists and increasingly sophisticated cyberattacks.
Speaking at the opening of Rheinmetall UK's new Gun Hall manufacturing facility in Telford on 22 October 2026, Streeting called for a wider national discussion about resilience, including how households and businesses would respond if essential infrastructure were disrupted.
Threats to everyday services
The Defence Secretary raised the possibility of cyberattacks disrupting payment systems used by shops and businesses, and of hostile activity affecting supply chains. He characterised some hostile-state activity as “state-sponsored terrorism”, arguing that the risks should be understood in terms of their practical consequences for the public.
His warning concerned possible future disruptions, not an announcement that an attack was imminent or that a specific payment or supply system had been compromised.
Preparedness and national resilience
Streeting said the public and businesses should consider how they would cope with interruptions to services. The government has separately published emergency-preparedness advice covering disruptions arising from a range of causes, including severe weather and infrastructure failures.
The remarks came during the official opening of a factory producing large-calibre gun barrels and components in the UK for the first time in around two decades. The Ministry of Defence says the Telford facility supports 100 skilled jobs and will strengthen domestic defence manufacturing capacity.
Defence spending and industrial capacity
In his official speech, Streeting argued that the UK must be able to manufacture and replenish essential military equipment during prolonged conflict. He said higher defence investment entails choices elsewhere in public spending, and linked the new facility to wider efforts to strengthen British and allied industrial capacity.
The warning does not amount to a new declaration of war, a confirmed intelligence assessment of an imminent attack, or evidence that British infrastructure has already been disabled by a hostile state.