A disaster planning committee has been formed to better equip Britain to deal with “unprecedented shocks” such as the coronavirus pandemic.
The new National Preparedness Commission will meet for the first time on Thursday to “think ahead to future emergencies” after the UK’s coronavirus response was found wanting.
It follows concerns that findings from Exercise Cygnus, a Government simulation of a pandemic that showed gaping holes in Britain’s Emergency Preparedness, Resilience and Response plan, still have not been published.
Former home secretary Lord Reid, Bishop of London Dame Sarah Mullally and Lord Evans, a former director general of MI5, are among more than 40 senior figures who have been appointed to force policymakers to put “fit for purpose” plans in place.
The National Preparedness Commission will not only look at global pandemic planning but also at threats from other critical incidents such as widespread power failure, flooding, adverse terrestrial and space weather, terrorist attacks on crowded places or transport, cyber attacks on infrastructure or services and chemical, biological and radiological attacks.
Read more in The Telegraph