The PM says households should stock up on tinned food and bottled water to cope with storms, cyber-attacks or worse. Sensible preparation, or needless alarm?

What happened

On 23 October Prime Minister Andy Burnham advised people to keep tinned food and bottled water at home, as Storm Austen hit the UK and after a major security flaw took 32 government services offline. The government's Be Ready campaign recommends three days of supplies: nine litres of water per person, non-perishable food, a battery or wind-up FM radio, a torch, cash and a first aid kit. A day earlier, Defence Secretary Wes Streeting said the aim was for people to be "alert but not alarmed".

Why people disagree

Supporters point out that Ireland, France and the Netherlands have given the same advice for years, that the National Audit Office found UK households less prepared than those in Finland and Sweden, and that a few days of supplies lets emergency services focus on people who need help most. Critics say vague warnings can feel like scaremongering, and Kemi Badenoch argued the bigger questions are what the risks are and what the government is doing on defence and cyber-attacks.

What's still unclear

Streeting said there was no specific threat in mind. It's unclear how many households will follow the advice, whether it could trigger panic buying in some areas, and what else the government plans to do to make supply chains more resilient.