The UK lacks a national plan to defend itself from attack and is moving at a “glacial” pace to fix the problem despite threats from Russia and China, a report by MPs has warned.

With the whole country needing to understand what it means to be ready for war, the Defence Select Committee also said it had seen no sign of a promised “national conversation on defence and security” that was launched by Sir Keir Starmer in June.

Sky News and other journalists were even blocked on Monday from interviewing sailors aboard HMS Prince of Wales, the Royal Navy’s flagship aircraft carrier, in direct contrast to the prime minister’s stated aim of greater engagement.

Public needs to know ‘what to expect’ from war

“We have repeatedly heard concerns about the UK’s ability to defend itself from attack,” said Labour MP Tan Dhesi, chair of the committee.

“Government must be willing to grasp the nettle and prioritise homeland defence and resilience.

“In achieving this, government cannot shy away from direct engagement with the public.

“Wars aren’t won just by generals, but by the whole of the population getting behind the Armed Forces and playing our part.

“There needs to be a co-ordinated effort to communicate with the public on the level of threat we face and what to expect in the event of conflict.”

‘The Wargame’ made real?

The findings of the report support a podcast series by Sky News and Tortoise Media called The Wargame – released in June.

It simulated a Russian attack on the UK and played out what the impact might be for the country in the absence of a credible, resourced and rehearsed national defence plan – something Britain maintained rigorously during the Cold War.

Sky News first revealed in April 2024 that the previous government no longer had such a plan, though work was under way to develop one.

Report’s assessment of war-readiness

The Defence Select Committee report – based on a nearly year-long inquiry – found: “The UK lacks a plan for defending the homeland and overseas territories with little progress on the Home Defence Programme.”

It said this meant the government was failing to meet a fundamental commitment to the NATO alliance – the Article 3 requirement to maintain the “capacity to resist armed attack”.

The report quoted Luke Pollard, a defence minister, acknowledging that “we have been very clear that we are not satisfied with Article 3 in the UK”.

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Yet the MPs’ report added: “Despite this recognition from government… measures to remediate seem to be moving at a glacial pace.”

It said: “Cross-government working on homeland defence and resilience is nowhere near where it needs to be. The government has said repeatedly that we are in an era of new threat, yet decision-making is slow and opaque.”

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The rebuke from the MPs was published as John Healey, the defence secretary, prepares to announce that 13 sites across the UK have been identified as possible locations for at least six new weapons factories.

“This is a new era of threat,” he will say at a speech in Westminster later.

“We are making defence an engine for growth, unambiguously backing British jobs and British skills as we make the UK better ready to fight and better able to deter future conflicts.

“This is the path that delivers national and economic security.”

Industry will be invited to submit proposals to produce ammunition and explosives, with the Ministry of Defence saying it hopes work on the first factory will begin next year.

Scotland secured a place at the men’s World Cup for the first time since 1998 as stoppage-time goals by Kieran Tierney and Kenny McLean secured a thrilling 4-2 win over Denmark at Hampden Park.

Scott McTominay’s spectacular third-minute bicycle kick had given the hosts a half-time lead.

Rasmus Hojlund equalised for the Danes in the 57th minute shortly before Rasmus Kristensen was sent off, but Lawrence Shankland restored Scotland’s advantage.

When Patrick Dorgu brought Denmark level again with nine minutes remaining, it seemed they would claim the point needed to top the group and book their place at next year’s tournament in the US, Canada, and Mexico.

However, Tierney fired an unstoppable shot past Kasper Schmeichel in the third minute of stoppage time

And then, with the Denmark goalkeeper up in attack at the other end of the pitch, McLean hit a long-range effort from his own half to spark delirious scenes.

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The victory saw Scotland top Group C and secure automatic qualification for the 2026 World Cup.

Head coach Steve Clarke had already led his country to back-to-back European Championships.

He told the BBC: “Scott McTominay scored the best overhead kick I’ve ever seen, and it might not have been the best goal of the night!”

Scotland captain Andy Robertson dedicated the victory to his former Liverpool teammate Diogo Jota, who died earlier this year in a car accident.

He told the BBC: “We certainly put the country through it, but I’m sure it will be worth it.”

“I couldn’t get my mate Diogo Jota out of my head today,” he added. We spoke so much together about the World Cup. When he missed out in Qatar through injury and I missed out when Scotland never went.

“We always discussed what it would be like going to this World Cup. I know he’ll be somewhere smiling over me tonight.”

The draw for the 2026 World Cup will take place in Washington on 5 December.

The best and worst delivery companies have been revealed in new research by Citizens Advice.

According to a survey carried out for the report, a record 15 million people experienced a problem with their latest delivery – more than one in three of those surveyed.

Yodel came last in a league table compiled by the charity, with a score of two out of five stars.

Royal Mail scored the highest at 3.25 out of five stars. Amazon Logistics came second with three stars, followed by DPD and Evri, which both got 2.25.

Citizens Advice’s league table measured the companies’ performance based on customer service, delivery issues and how well they met accessibility needs.

The most common issues people faced with their last delivery included the driver leaving before they had time to get to the door (29%), their parcel being left in an insecure location (24%), and parcels arriving late (24%).

The charity pointed to regulator Ofcom introducing guidance on complaints and accessibility in 2023, but said its research showed many parcel firms were still “ignoring the rules”.

‘Tougher action needed’

Dame Clare Moriarty, chief executive of Citizens Advice, said: “We continue to see millions of people chasing lost parcels, having their accessibility needs ignored and hitting a brick wall when they try to complain.

“The question now is whether the regulator will take tougher action to improve the parcel market once and for all.”

In response, Ofcom said in a statement to Sky News: “We have a strong track record of holding parcel firms to account on behalf of the public.

“That has involved tracking people’s experiences of parcel deliveries for over a decade, and, as a result, introducing strengthened regulations on parcel firms in 2023.

“Under these rules, postal operators must have a simple and transparent complaints process in place, and have clear and effective policies and procedures for the fair treatment of disabled customers.

“While overall satisfaction is reasonably high at 78%, people’s experiences can vary depending on which parcel company delivers their package, and we’re continuing to press operators to make further improvements.

“We’ll also continue to work with Citizens Advice – as the statutory consumer advocate for post – to achieve our shared goal of ensuring consumers receive a reliable service, whichever company is used.”

Accessibility found to be the worst performing area

Mike, in his 70s, has muscular dystrophy and relies on two walking sticks. He has asked delivery firms not to leave parcels at his front door as he struggles to get there in time.

He instead asks them to deliver to his back door, which is closer to his home office and easier for him to reach. But Citizens Advice says companies ignore his requests.

It results in parcels often being misdelivered or left exposed to the weather.

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“It makes you awfully frustrated, and it makes you really fed up, to the point that I’m beginning to stop buying from retailers that use certain delivery companies,” Mike said.

“I had one delivery agent chuck a parcel over the back gate on to the concrete floor, who said he’d handed it to the resident. I had the video showing him throwing it over the back gate then taking a picture saying he’d delivered it.”

What have the delivery companies said in response?

Amazon:

“Every day at Amazon, incredible employees and independent delivery partners come together to provide fast, reliable and safe delivery for our customers.

“The vast majority of deliveries make it to customers without issue. In the rare case something occurs, we work with customers directly to make it right.”

Royal Mail:

“We are pleased Royal Mail came first in the Citizens Advice parcels league table for the fourth year running.

“Since last year, we’ve made great strides in providing customers with the most convenient options for sending, returning and collecting parcels.

“Aside from delivering to every home in the UK, we offer the UK’s largest out-of-home network including shops, lockers and parcel post boxes, all introduced to ensure we’re the nearest and simplest choice for our customers.”

Evri:

“Every parcel matters, and it is great to receive independent recognition from Citizens Advice of the progress we are already making on service.

“This comes at a time when we have grown significantly in scale to deliver over 900 million parcels a year and follows sustained investments of £57m in operations and technology supporting service improvements over the past 12 months.

“That said, we have further improvements planned and know we have more to do.

“By listening to feedback and investing in the right tools, systems, and training, we have been able to make tangible improvements for our customers as we remain focused on building further trust and consistency across each delivery.

“We are also the only UK parcel carrier to commit to accessibility improvements and since we partnered with disability equality charity Scope in October 2024 improvements include enhanced doorstep and website delivery options, with 90,000 customers already setting accessibility preferences on their Evri account.”

Yodel and DPD did not respond to requests for comment from Sky News.

Citizens Advice said between August and September, Opinium Research conducted an online survey of 8,000 adults who received a parcel in the last month from Royal Mail, DPD, Yodel, Amazon Logistics or Evri.

The data was weighted to be nationally representative of those that had received a parcel from one of those five companies in the last month.