 resilience – the then Cabinet Office minister Michael Ellis – refused to appear due to his 'lack of command' of the issue. The committee called for a minister of state for CNI resilience to be appointed, with a team within the Cabinet Office to focus on the problem. Committee chair Dame Margaret Beckett said: 'Storm Arwen showed){kind=link}
National security is being jeopardised as ministers fail to prepare for the increasing risks of extreme weather events due to climate change, a panel of MPs have warned.
Power blackouts, floods, landslides blocking roads and buckling train lines due to extreme heat will become more common, the joint committee on the national security strategy said.
Cascading risks from such problems can quickly start to threaten other infrastructure, the MPs warned.
And they bemoaned a ‘severe dereliction of duty on the part of the government’, with no minister prepared to take responsibility for ensuring the resilience of vital power, transport and communications networks.
The committee highlighted Storm Arwen last November when almost a million people lost power.