89 of UK's biggest threats revealed by Government and they include nuclear attack and volcanic eruption

Rishi Sunak’s deputy Oliver Dowden has launched a National Risk Register that outlines 89 threats that could disrupt life in the UK.

It saw the Government declassify a lot of information and publish an online tool in a bid to raise awareness amongst the public and better prepare businesses for the theoretical 'worst case scenarios’.

The Register was revealed during Dowden’s visit to the installation of the world’s largest offshore wind farm planned for launch in the future and potentially able to increase Britain's energy security.

It included catastrophes such as nuclear war - Vladimir Putin’s go-to threat,the malicious use of drones, Internet cut-off, assassination of Britain’s leader, volcanic eruption, poor air quality, another pandemic and many more.

The Government wants to prepare Brits for 'the worst'

Planners at the Cabinet Office believe that Brits should be aware of the dangers the country faces so they can be better prepared for action in case of emergency.

They have therefore drawn up the National Risk Register (NRR), a guide to ‘89 key threats to the UK's safety and security’ - from man-made ones such as nuclear attacks or the PM’s assassination to natural disasters such as volcano eruption or an earthquake.

The Government had to disclose certain previously classified information to prepare the list.

The UK’s Deputy National Security Advisor Matt Collins said:

A comprehensive understanding of the risks we face is critical to keeping the UK safe. This edition of the NRR, based on the Government’s internal, classified risk assessment offers even more detail on the potential scenarios, response and recovery options relating to the risks facing the UK ranging from terrorism to conflicts and natural disasters.

The Government assessed the severity of each risk based on factors such as death toll and financial damage, while extensive data modelling and expert analysis have been used to determine the likelihood of each risk, with above 25% being the highest score.

Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden said:

The first duty of government is to keep people safe. And I think one of the things we can do to help keep people safe is to identify the range of risks facing the country.

It's for businesses, it's for voluntary organisations, like the Red Cross and others, to see for the first time in such a high level of detail, the risks facing us and then the government is taking action to address those risks.

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These are the threats faced by the UK

Russians cutting vital undersea telecommunications cables, a rogue drone disrupting flights at airports and the assassination of a high-profile public figure are just some of the threats mentioned in NRR.

Some of the risks are understandably linked to Russia and Vladimir Putin as the British Government is concerned that the Kremlin's submarines could target underwater fibre optic connections linking Britain to the US, while Russia’s nuclear arsenal could obliterate the whole country.

Moscow cutting off gas supplies to European countries resulting in severe gas shortage is another potential danger.

Energy security is one of the problems the Government is drawing the most attention to as the NRR was revealed while Dowden was visiting energy supplier SSE's Able Seaton Port facility in Hartlepool, England where the first turbine of the future world's largest offshore wind farm was installed. It is set to provide ‘secure, low-cost and clean energy for the British people’.

NRR also warned that the cyber attacks could lead to ‘an immediate outage to services and systems’ across different areas of life while terrorist attacks, including potentially related to Northern Ireland, could see massive hostage taking.

Another pandemic amongst humans or animals, weather events such as heatwaves, floods and storms also made the list, as did volcanic eruptions and earthquakes.

Climate change-related risks such as wildfires, coastal flooding, drought, and poor air quality were also included.

Read more:

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Sources used:

- Mirror: 'Nuclear attack and internet blackout warning as 89 biggest threats facing UK revealed'

- Sky News: 'Likelihood of another pandemic and assassination of public figure revealed in 'national risk register''

- GOV.UK: 'Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden unveils A-Z of serious risks facing the UK'