The government has published an updated National Risk Register, adding seven new risks including interference in the UK’s democratic process and a range of cyber threats, as the Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister delivered his Annual Resilience Statement to Parliament.
The update reflects a rapidly evolving threat landscape in which artificial intelligence is accelerating both the sophistication and proliferation of cyber attacks, extreme weather events are intensifying, and the UK’s exposure to hostile state and non-state interference has grown significantly.
What Has Changed
Seven new risks have been added to the National Risk Register. These include cyber attacks targeting data infrastructure, water infrastructure, and police systems, alongside a new “digital resilience failure” category drawing on lessons learned from the CrowdStrike IT outage in July 2024. The risk of interference in the UK’s democratic process has also been formally added, following new measures announced last week to strengthen protections including tougher checks on company donations and a cap on overseas donations.
In a notable removal, the threat of disruption to Russian gas supplies has been taken off the register, reflecting the UK’s successful reduction of its dependence on Russian gas.
A New National Resilience Campaign
The government has announced plans to launch a landmark national resilience campaign later this year, designed to encourage the public to take practical steps to improve household preparedness for risks including cyber attacks, flooding, and severe weather. The campaign will include new resources for schools and colleges and builds on existing guidance through the GOV.UK Prepare platform, bringing the UK into line with European peers that already run similar initiatives.
Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister Darren Jones said: “This year we saw temperatures across the UK breaking records in May, only to be exceeded again in June, and AI offers new ways for criminals to carry out cyber-attacks against us, as well as offering huge opportunities for our economy and security. The government will do all it can and we are well prepared, but we can all play our part to keep ourselves and our loved ones safe.”
Home Defence and the Largest Exercise in Decades
In a significant announcement for defence and national security, the government confirmed that its Home Defence Programme will deliver the largest UK home defence exercise in decades in 2027. Named Operation ALBISTON SHADOW, the multi-day exercise will involve ministers and hundreds of officials from across government and the public sector, testing preparedness for hybrid attacks against the UK. It will complement NATO’s own forthcoming exercise, CMX27, ensuring UK alignment with alliance partners.
The government also confirmed that classified government crisis plans, commonly known as the “War Books” and last updated in 2004, are being revised as part of the Home Defence Programme. These Cabinet Office-coordinated documents help departments plan responses to direct threats against the UK.
Louise Sandher-Jones MP, Minister for the Armed Forces, said: “We increase the chances of conflict by not being ready. Today’s announcement is a clear demonstration of how we are working across Government, with the military, government departments, agencies, and the whole of society, to strengthen Britain’s homeland defence and resilience. Russia is not only a threat to NATO’s eastern flank. It is a direct threat to the UK homeland and these exercises, together with important measures like updating our War Books, will help prepare us to meet that threat.”
Regional Resilience and Biological Security
The government has also announced a consultation on empowering regional mayors to play a broader formal role in local resilience, working alongside existing Local Resilience Forums. The consultation will explore changes to the Civil Contingencies Act 2004, which is broadly considered fit for purpose but due for a regular review.
On biological security, the government confirmed that departments are on track to deliver all medium-term commitments under the 2023 Biological Security Strategy by 2028, including publication of a new Pandemic Preparedness Strategy backed by around £1 billion in health protection measures and delivery of a new Network of National Biosecurity Centres backed by £1.83 billion in funding.
What This Means for Defence and Security Procurement
The breadth of the updated National Risk Register has direct implications for defence, security, and critical national infrastructure procurement. The formal recognition of cyber attacks on water, data, and police infrastructure as national-level risks will accelerate investment in cyber resilience, secure communications, and digital infrastructure protection across both government and regulated industries.
The Home Defence Programme and the revision of the War Books signal a more systematic and funded approach to homeland resilience, with procurement implications across exercise support, secure communications, logistics, and emergency response capability. For suppliers across these sectors, the direction of travel from government is clear and the investment pipeline is growing.
Post written by: Vicky Maggiani
Vicky has worked in media for over 25 years and has a wealth of experience in editing and creating copy for a variety of sectors.
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