The Silent War: Why Britain Urgently Needs a National Resilience Campaign
- noahbergman3
- 5 days ago
- 3 min read
From cyber attacks to covert sabotage, the UK is facing a sustained, hybrid campaign designed to weaken our society. It's time for a national conversation about defence, deterrence, and resilience.
Lord (Toby) Harris, Chair of the National Preparedness Commission, in conversation with Lady Olga Maitland
An Unignorable Warning
“Russia remains the most significant threat to NATO.”
These stark words from new NATO Secretary General, Mark Rutte, set the stage for a recent and urgent discussion between Lord Toby Harris, Chair of the National Preparedness Commission, and Lady Olga Maitland. A former MP and Founder of the Defence and Security Forum, Lady Olga delivered a powerful case for why the UK must immediately launch a National Resilience Campaign.
The central thesis is this: the threat is not looming on the horizon; it is here, now. The aim of our adversaries is not a traditional land invasion, but to “confuse, destabilise and create a pervasive sense of institutional decay, making the target nation complicit in its own weakness and decline.”
The Multifaceted Assault: More Than Just "Boots on the Ground"
Lady Olga detailed a chilling catalogue of ongoing malign activities that demonstrate the breadth and depth of this hybrid war.
The Cyber Frontline: “We are under constant attack from criminal hackers,” she stated, noting the UK is the third most targeted nation globally. With a reported 100 million cyber attacks in the summer of 2025 and an estimated cost to businesses of £64 billion, the assault on our digital infrastructure is relentless, targeting hospitals, government services, and critical infrastructure.
Physical Sabotage and Intimidation: Our physical security is also under test. “Sabotage is rife,” she warned, pointing to Russian ships loitering near undersea cables in the English Channel and the cutting of communication lines in the Baltic Sea. RAF jets have been scrambled to intercept Russian aircraft near UK airspace, while arson attacks on warehouses in the UK and Europe, linked to groups like Wagner, show a campaign to disrupt support for Ukraine.
The Battle for the Narrative: Perhaps the most insidious front is the information war. “Disinformation, sophisticated propaganda... amplify social divisions – from Brexit to immigration, race and gender,” Lady Olga explained. This is a deliberate strategy to fracture our social cohesion and turn us against each other.
This view is echoed by strategic experts. Professor Fiona Hill, a co-architect of the Strategic Defence Review, recently admitted, ‘We’re in pretty big trouble,’ concluding that Putin sees the Ukraine war as a starting point to Moscow becoming a ‘dominant military power in all of Europe’.
The Vulnerability Within: A Lack of Collective Memory
This multi-pronged offensive meets a population largely unaware of the danger. Lady Olga points to a profound lack of public awareness as a critical vulnerability.
“Domestic social issues have dominated the national conversation for the 80 years since the last war. Those war years are forgotten,” she said. This “perception gap” means our society is woefully underprepared for the economic chaos and loss of confidence that would follow a successful, debilitating attack on our power grid or transport systems.
A Call to Action: The Three Pillars of National Resilience
Awareness is a form of defence. To close this gap and build a resilient nation, Lady Olga advocates for a strategic, non-partisan campaign built on three core pillars:
Awareness: We need a national conversation, led not solely by government, but by trusted, independent voices—respected military and diplomatic figures, journalists, and public personalities across generations. The message must be clear: defence is our National Insurance, a critical foundation like the NHS that we cannot do without.
Investment: Strong communications are not enough. Defence spending must rise strategically and be tied to jobs, innovation, and fulfilling our NATO commitments. We must harden our cyber defences and invest in a ‘whole system’ approach to security.
Resilience: We must embed social readiness into our national psyche. The public must be educated on how to report malign misinformation and suspicious behaviour, building on the success of public reporting of phishing attempts to the National Cyber Security Centre.
Conclusion: A National Imperative
The challenge is immense, but the path forward is clear. This is not a partisan issue, but a national imperative. As Lady Olga concludes:
“By mobilising trusted voices, leveraging media partnerships and above all with a clear vision of the United Kingdom as unbreakable and fully prepared, the Government can rally support.”
We must reframe our priorities and understand that defence is intrinsically linked to our daily lives, our economic prosperity, and our very way of life. The time to wait is over. The time for a National Resilience Campaign is now.