The British public could be sent text alerts to their mobile phones in the event of an incoming missile strike from Iran or Russia, a minister has suggested.
Concerns that the UK is increasingly vulnerable to attack from Tehran or Moscow have been heightened after Iran fired two intermediate-range ballistic missiles towards the UK-US Indian Ocean base of Diego Garcia last Friday.
It was the first known operational use of the missiles by Iran, and underlined how prepared the Tehran regime is to fire at targets outside the Middle East, as well as the long range of its armoury.
One of the missiles fell short of the airbase, while the second was intercepted by a US destroyer, but would have also fallen short of its target, Defence Secretary John Healey told the Commons.
Healey warned the Commons: “Iran is a threat to us all, it’s lashing out and its attacks across the region are escalating.”
But the Defence Secretary insisted that there was currently “no assessment” that the UK would be targeted by an Iranian missile strike, and that the country would be protected under the Nato air defence “umbrella”.
However, speaking in the Lords during an urgent question on the UK’s homeland protection, defence minister Lord Coaker said the public would be kept fully informed of any threats they faced and what “appropriate action” should be taken in that scenario.
Lord Harris of Haringey, the Labour chair of the National Preparedness Commission, asked Coaker what discussions were being had in government about guidance for people in the UK, adding: “Will there be alerts through the telephone emergency system, and what will be the guidance to people as to what they should do in the event of some form of incoming missile?”
Coaker replied: “My noble friend is right, alongside the actions that the government takes to intercept the missiles, we need to talk to the public about the potential threats that they may face.
“Our assessment is that Iran poses no threat at the current time to the UK, but we will … take the action it needs to inform the public and tell them what the appropriate action is that they should take in the event of any such threat coming about.”
The Cabinet Office currently operates an emergency text alerts system for incidents such as serious flooding and extreme storms. The system was tested nationally last September when most mobile phones and tablets across the UK received a text message, accompanied by a loud siren-like sound and vibration for 10 seconds.
Last year the Strategic Defence Review, backed by the government, announced £1bn of extra funding towards the UK’s air missile defence, including more money for Sky Sabre, the Army’s ground-based anti-missile system, more F35 fighter jets and E7 Wedgetail early warning aircraft, which can intercept incoming threats.
However as The i Paper reported at the time, the SDR stopped short of recommending a full Iron Dome-style air defence system for the UK because it was unaffordable within the 3 per cent of GDP the government plans to spend on defence over the next parliament.
The £1bn of funding has not yet been fully spent, it is understood, and some of the capabilities are yet to come on stream.
Tobias Ellwood, a former Tory defence minister, told The i Paper: “Iran has proved (given the extended range of its missiles) that every single base in Britain is now vulnerable to attack. We should expedite urgent operational requirements to upgrade our sovereign air defence as a priority.”
A Western intelligence source said on Sunday that it was known that Tehran possesses the knowledge and technical capacity to produce missiles with a range in excess of 3,200 kilometres – sufficient to reach much of Western Europe and possibly the UK – and “probable” it had done so.
“It is useful for the Iranians to keep everyone guessing,” they said.
Depending on the type, a missile fired from Russia could take from anywhere between 20 minutes and several hours to reach the UK.
The Defence Secretary and Downing Street attempted to reassure the public that the UK was protected from missile attacks.
Healey said: “There is no assessment that we are being targeted in the UK in that way. We have resources, we have the alliances in place in order to keep the United Kingdom safe from any kind of attacks.
“We operate a layered defence of this United Kingdom, our navy, our RAF, our army, are all involved, and of course we operate our defence with other Nato allies.”
And Keir Starmer’s official spokesman insisted the government has “the military capability we need in the UK to keep people safe from any kind of attack, whether it is on our soil or abroad”.
Giving evidence to the liaison committee of senior MPs, Starmer insisted Britain has “very effective ways of defending ourselves”.
The PM said: “I don’t want to raise levels of public anxiety. They are anxious about what they’re already seeing on their television screens. They’re anxious about the impact it will have on them, particularly economically, in their households. And I don’t want to raise their levels of anxiety.
“I can tell you our military personnel, our security and intelligence services, are working literally 24/7 to keep us safe and doing a very good job in that regard.”
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