The prime minister has advised people to stock up on tinned food and bottled water in order to be prepared for emergencies.
With storms battering the UK, and in the wake of online disruption caused by a major security flaw, Andy Burnham said “unexpected events seem to be becoming more and more common”.
The government has drawn up recommendations for households to have three days’ worth of bottled water and tinned food to deal with a crisis such as a war, an online attack or a natural disaster.
Burnham added: “It’s not about panic buying… It’s about just taking sensible measures to have enough in the house to tide you over should there be a difficult situation.”
She said she’d include: “Mascara, concealer, I don’t know, a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc, a tin of baked beans because you’ve gotta have some baked beans, and I like a good tin of custard as well so I think that’ll keep me going for a while.”
Asked whether he agreed with her, Burnham told BBC Radio 5 Live’s Matt Chorley: “Well, I’m not sure a bottle of wine is your best first port of call if you’re in a slightly crisis situation, but it probably helps when you’ve done the hard work.
“But I’ll stick to the basics I think – I do like my beans, so I have plenty of those in the cupboard, and soup.
“I think those are the kind of things that I would recommend people to have, as well as Twiglets, I’m not sure I can get by for too long without those.”
Last month, the National Audit Office (NAO) warned Britain’s food supply chain is at risk given the growing threat of cyber-attacks and the climate crisis and said the Department for Food, the Environment and Rural Affairs (Defra) had not done enough in recent years to improve supply chain resilience.
The chief executive of the Cold Chain Federation, which represents firms transporting temperature-controlled foods, also told the BBC the UK is being targeted by Russian cyber-hackers who “know that there are pinch points in the food supply system”.
Speaking at a wildfire resilience summit in Liverpool, Burnham denied the government had failed to properly prepare, saying: “No, we’re having the conversation with people about being better prepared because we’re living in a world where unexpected events seem to be becoming more and more common.
“Obviously, weather events, and we’re in a situation today where the UK is facing storms and obviously, we feel for the people without power in Cornwall right now.
“It is just having those supplies in the house to get you through those moments. So we are having that conversation about resilience.”
A checklist drawn up by the government recommends having nine litres of water per person – enough for three days – along with non-perishable food such as tinned meat and vegetables or dried fruit.
The government suggests having an FM radio, either battery or wind-up. During a national crisis, the BBC would prioritise broadcasting news, as well as health and safety information. In the event of a severe power cut, FM radio will be the best way to receive these updates.
The list also suggests hand sanitiser, wet wipes and toiletries, food for any pets, supplies for any babies, a torch, blankets, a charged power bank for devices, cash in case payment systems collapse, a first aid kit and copies of important documents.
Earlier, Treasury minister James Murray told BBC Breakfast he has not yet followed the government’s guidance on stockpiling supplies to prepare for a crisis.
He said he had a stockpile of coffee, but pointed out that neighbouring countries including Ireland, France and the Netherlands had given the same guidance “for quite a long time”.
He added: “I’m not going to pretend I’ve followed all that advice myself yet.”
Speaking on the same programme, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said she was “stocked up for the week at any time”.
She said the previous Conservative government had issued similar advice on preparing for emergencies, but added: “What I’m more concerned about is that it doesn’t look like [the government] are explaining what the risks we are under are, and what they are doing about the big things.
“Families can stock up but what’s going on with defence, the cyber attacks, the hybrid warfare? The money to look after the country has not been forthcoming.”
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