Defence Secretary Wes Streeting has warned Brits to stock up on emergency supplies ready for a natural disaster or war. He said households should be prepared with tinned food, bottles water and a stockpile of cash. The Government has previously published advice telling people to get ready for conflict or a disaster, but this is the bluntest warning to come directly from the Defence Secretary.

He said: “I want people to be alert, not alarmed.” But he urged “individual citizens” to think about “how to be prepared for acts of nature, or acts of terrorism, or indeed in extreme acts of war”. Speaking to the Sun, the Defence Secretary said: “It’s having some cash at home, having a supply of bottled water indoors, having some tinned goods that you can access if your electric goes and you’re not able to cook on the hob or in the microwave.

“These are basic things, and of course, you know, a lot of people just have that in their cupboard naturally.”

In an interview to tie in with the Labour Party conference, he said: “It’s not a big ask, it’s just a simple ask of people.

“Do they have what they need indoors, should they lose access to their online banking for a period? Should they have a power cut?

“If there was a risk of wildfire, if there was a risk of flooding, sometimes it feels like even in communities that experience those sorts of events periodically, we’re not as prepared as we should be.”

While the Defence Secretary spoke about the possibility of a natural disaster, he also made it clear he thinks there is a real possibility of a devastating war.

He said: “Without a shadow of a doubt, the biggest threat facing Britain is Russia and President Putin.

“We’ve got war in our continent. We’ve got a Russian president who has imperialist ambitions, who is constantly testing Britain’s defences, Nato defences and testing the strength of our alliances.

“And so, the sobering reality is that we face a greater risk of war than we’ve done at any point in my lifetime.”

And highlighting plans to increase defence spending, he said: “Strength builds deterrence, and deterrence makes it far less likely that we will end up in a place we don’t want to be – which is at war with Russia or, indeed, anyone else.”

Mr Streeting said the government would “deliver the biggest sustained increase in defence spending since the end of the Cold War”.

Conservatives have accused the Government of failing to increase defence funding, and argue that cuts to welfare spending are essential in order to fund the armed forces properly.