Britain has failed to prepare for war in a 'whole-nation endeavour', ex-defence ... trends now

Britain has failed to prepare for war in a 'whole-nation endeavour', ex-defence ministers have warned - as Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine sparks fears of an all-out conflict with Russia.

Outgoing armed forces minister James Heappey revealed that only Ministry of Defence (MoD) officials turned up to an exercise to prepare for wartime scenarios which was meant for the whole of Government.

He called on ministers to do more to prepare for conflict just weeks after resigning his MoD post.

Ben Wallace, the Conservative former defence secretary, agreed with his colleague, and said too many in Government were 'just hoping everything will go away'.

Writing in the Telegraph newspaper, Mr Heappey said the UK was behind allies who had taken steps to reinforce citizens' preparedness for war.

He gave the example of Sweden, where the government has handed out a booklet explaining what to do in a time of war, including which emergency food provisions to store.

Mr Heappey wrote: 'It's a stark reminder that war is a whole-nation endeavour and, to be frank, in the UK we're a very long way behind.'

The former soldier, who resigned as a minister at the end of March, said ministers across the Government needed to explain how Britain would feed itself during a war, and how public services would work.

The Conservative MP said not enough figures within Government were considering these

read more from dailymail.....