Britain prepares updated plan for transition to martial law due to growing threat from Russia - Sky News
The United Kingdom is "rapidly developing" plans to prepare the country for a possible transition to wartime.
This was stated by Junior Minister for Veterans Affairs Alistair Carns, according to Censor.NET with reference to Sky News.
"The shadow of war is knocking on Europe's door again. This is a reality. We must be prepared to avert it," said Carne. According to him, the level of hostile intelligence activities—espionage, cyberattacks, and physical threats—against the Armed Forces and the Ministry of Defense has increased by more than 50% over the past year. Most often, these are actions by Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea.
New counterintelligence service
The government is creating a new counterintelligence service to strengthen the country's ability to detect and counter the activities of enemy intelligence services. The intelligence units of the army, navy, air force, and defense ministry have also been merged and will operate under the name "Military Intelligence."
During a visit to a secret military base in Cambridgeshire, Carns said the government was updating its approach to preparing the public, industry, and government agencies for potential crises. "We need to act as quickly as possible to make sure this is backed up," he said.
Government military book
Sky News recalls that Britain previously had a comprehensive plan called the "Government Military Book," which defined the actions of the state and society during wartime, but it was shelved after the end of the Cold War. Carne's comments indicate that a modern version of this doctrine is currently being prepared.
The minister noted that many Britons do not feel threatened, despite Russia's ongoing war against Ukraine, which is even affecting fuel prices. "We need to get this across to people so that they understand, not to scare them, but to be realistic and understand where these threats come from and why defense and a whole-of-society approach are so important," Carns concluded.
