As the UK government prepares a new version of the “War Book”, first developed during the First World War, what do we need to consider when preparing Britain for the threats it faces? Serco’s UK & Europe CEO Fiona Walters pens an article on what today’s War Book will need to look like and consider, encompassing not just the military response, but what’s needed for society and the economy to continue functioning at a time of crisis. Fiona makes the case for why we need a whole-of-society approach – combining civil society, academia and business – if we are truly to build the UK’s national resilience and readiness. As the world grows more dangerous, one thing is manifestly clear: having a plan on how Britain, as a nation, responds and recovers from physical, economic or cyber threats is no longer a nice-to-have: it’s an imperative. 👇 Click below to read the article. #NationalResilience #UKDefence #WarBook #WholeOfSociety #CriticalInfrastructure #DefencePolicy #CyberSecurity #PublicPrivatePartnership #StrategicResilience #SercoDefence
John Gardner
1mo
Important to raise this key and unplatable dimension to our new times. Just to note that when the old War Book began to gather dust in the 1990s, the range and depth of public services provided by the private sector was still relatively small. Now a new War Book will have to factor in some critical providers (with some complex contractual arrangements to boot) which the Government has no day to day control of.
AmalAxis
1mo
Serco raises a timely question here. A modern War Book has to account for threats well beyond conventional warfare now, with cyber, supply chains, and critical infrastructure all in scope. Readiness and resilience really are the right lens for these uncertain times.
Geoff Smith
1mo
An interesting article, but with a serious flaw. Fiona assumes that the UK government will allow the country to be drawn into a conventional all out conflict. This itself assumes that the UK government would be prepared to accept significant numbers of civilian deaths. I very much doubt this.
Amanda Coleman
1mo
The psychological impact on a very different public than in years gone by is a part of this that gets overlooked.
Kelly Van Nelson
1mo
Excellent article relevant to the era we are in
Serco
1mo
This article was originally published in the New Statesman and can be found here: https://www.newstatesman.com/spotlight/2026/05/what-does-a-new-war-book-look-like-for-the-uk
Great activity and I’m keen to get involved.
Danny Sfetcos
1mo
This company suffers from ageism.
Well done. A very informative article
The point about resilience in an efficient history is one for the tax payer to ponder. The first casualty of war, once you've noticed that war has commenced, is truth (we've seen this recently very clearly coming out from sources traditionally considered reliable) with there being a world of difference in the ability to filter truth (and control the narrative for the masses) since censorship during WW1 when this book had its first edition.