I am defence and security editor at Sky News - DMs open or my email is [email protected]
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Joined October 2010
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The Wargame returns and this time it is on screen as we simulate what might happen if Russia attacks the UK
"Every decision is a choice between bad and worse"
youtube.com/watch?v=m0zV0wrv…
Deborah Haynes retweeted
On GMB @susannareid100 said to the PM on Healey's 3% defence target: 'Are you going to hit it? You've just spooked everybody by saying stockpile. We have the current defence secretary saying we need to prepare for war. What are you doing to invest in defence?'
Burnham said the 'stockpiling' campaign is getting a debate 'up there in people's minds' but the apparent reluctance to be upfront about it reflects what @haynesdeborah has been reporting for months - ministers initially didn't even want it to be a big thing and there's disappointment that it's not being taken more seriously
The national resilience moment that very nearly barely happened:
A huge amount of work has gone on behind the scenes to plan for the "Be Ready" rollout, which was first trailed during the dying days of Sir Keir Starmer's government.
Andy Burnham inherited the project as well as leadership of the much-promised but minimally-delivered national conversation on defence.
Yet he appears to have chosen not to speak out on the launch of the new readiness campaign despite its national significance.
Even Dan Jarvis, the security minister, who is leading on resilience, stayed away from journalists on Thursday, instead just publishing his ministerial statement and sending out a written post on social media.
This lacklustre approach was met privately with disappointment among members of the resilience community.
The concern - rightly or wrongly - is that it creates the impression that preparing the country (every post code!) for the possibility of any crisis, up to and including war, is not a top priority for the government.
news.sky.com/story/be-ready-…
Deborah Haynes retweeted
🇷🇴🇧🇬 RUSSIA'S GREY-ZONE WAR AGAINST EUROPE IS RAPIDLY EXPANDING.
EIGHT SHIPS. JUST 19 DAYS.
Since October 5, eight commercial vessels have been involved in serious incidents in the western Black Sea, just off the coasts of NATO members Romania and Bulgaria.
Several were struck by drones. Others caught fire or sank, with some circumstances and attribution still under investigation.
The human cost is staggering:
• 81 sailors reported rescued or safe
• 21 reported missing
• 12–13 reported dead or presumed dead, including 10 presumed fatalities
The latest incident happened TODAY. The cargo ship KHORYV capsized just 13 nautical miles off Constanța, leaving one sailor dead and three missing. Romania has blamed Russia for the attack.
These are civilian ships, carrying civilian crews, operating on the doorstep of NATO territory.
I've mapped all eight incidents from October 5–23, including their reported locations and the human cost.
Deborah Haynes retweeted
Are we adequately insured to be able to assure our economic security? My article for @ConHome👇
conservativehome.com/2026/10…
@karaowen @TomTugendhat @TomSharpe134 @SheridanDani @timothy_stanley @wesstreeting @jreynoldsMP @HMTCAsiaPacific @LouCantillon @CTurnerFCDO @haynesdeborah @BenWallace70 @jcartlidgemp @james_rogers @edwardstrngr65 @EdLlewellynFCDO @griffitha @afneil @GenGJenkinsRM @LOS_Fisher @NavyLookout @Katie_Lam_MP
💥With UK households urged to stock supplies for a crisis, what about companies?
We filmed a business wargame, with executives from various sectors - water, energy, telecoms - pretending to run 2 fictitious companies at a time of escalating hostilities ⬇️
news.sky.com/video/inside-a-…
If you were on a train towards Bromley South this morning and left your AirPod case on board, I handed it into Shortlands station. I spotted it when I got on at Kent House at 0747. The initials KEB are on the front ⬇️
Deborah Haynes retweeted
The first thing to do is tell the public the truth. They will ask three hard questions. 1) how did we get into this mess. 2) why didn't you tell us earlier 3) what are you doing about it. But delay only makes it worse
Deborah Haynes retweeted
The brutality of this is horrendous. So many good reporters have lost their jobs as part of a drive to integrate AI into the newsroom. Artificial intelligence simply cannot replace the experience gained through years of front-line reporting. I know there is a deep sense of betrayal among some of my former Telegraph colleagues. My heart goes out to them.
About a Hundred Telegraph Staff Get 90 Minutes Notice Before Being Sacked order-order.com/2026/10/23/a…
Deborah Haynes retweeted
The government has published new advice on being ready for emergencies, including stockpiling food and water to last three days.
Sky's defence and security editor @HaynesDeborah reports.
Read more: trib.al/NIU2saR
Deborah Haynes retweeted
The government is doing just enough to pretend it warned us and nowhere near enough to face up to our many risks. National resilience should be a Downing Street podium/ address to the nation moment, not a WMS and a reluctant interview or two.
The national resilience moment that very nearly barely happened:
A huge amount of work has gone on behind the scenes to plan for the "Be Ready" rollout, which was first trailed during the dying days of Sir Keir Starmer's government.
Andy Burnham inherited the project as well as leadership of the much-promised but minimally-delivered national conversation on defence.
Yet he appears to have chosen not to speak out on the launch of the new readiness campaign despite its national significance.
Even Dan Jarvis, the security minister, who is leading on resilience, stayed away from journalists on Thursday, instead just publishing his ministerial statement and sending out a written post on social media.
This lacklustre approach was met privately with disappointment among members of the resilience community.
The concern - rightly or wrongly - is that it creates the impression that preparing the country (every post code!) for the possibility of any crisis, up to and including war, is not a top priority for the government.
news.sky.com/story/be-ready-…
Deborah Haynes retweeted
The government has updated its emergency-preparedness website, as the UK faces increasing threats at home and abroad.
But is the PM ready to talk about the possibility of war?
Sky's @haynesdeborah reports
For more content like this, download the Sky News Defence Insider app which offers a three-month free trial for new customers only. £14.99 a month thereafter unless cancelled. Terms apply.
Deborah Haynes retweeted
The national resilience moment that almost barely happened trib.al/7pDfx34
Deborah Haynes retweeted
There persists a very strong belief in HMG that speaking to the nation about threats and risks will create fear and panic in a way that is somehow 'bad politics'. It's born of the same culture that underpins the continued belief in a just-in-time economy, our lack of stockpiles.
The national resilience moment that very nearly barely happened:
A huge amount of work has gone on behind the scenes to plan for the "Be Ready" rollout, which was first trailed during the dying days of Sir Keir Starmer's government.
Andy Burnham inherited the project as well as leadership of the much-promised but minimally-delivered national conversation on defence.
Yet he appears to have chosen not to speak out on the launch of the new readiness campaign despite its national significance.
Even Dan Jarvis, the security minister, who is leading on resilience, stayed away from journalists on Thursday, instead just publishing his ministerial statement and sending out a written post on social media.
This lacklustre approach was met privately with disappointment among members of the resilience community.
The concern - rightly or wrongly - is that it creates the impression that preparing the country (every post code!) for the possibility of any crisis, up to and including war, is not a top priority for the government.
news.sky.com/story/be-ready-…
Deborah Haynes retweeted
Shocking it took a question from @debhaynes - not some carefully choreographed government announcement - to publicise the Government’s resilience campaign launch. As she point out, the poor rollout creates the impression that preparing public for a crisis “is not a top priority”
The national resilience moment that very nearly barely happened:
A huge amount of work has gone on behind the scenes to plan for the "Be Ready" rollout, which was first trailed during the dying days of Sir Keir Starmer's government.
Andy Burnham inherited the project as well as leadership of the much-promised but minimally-delivered national conversation on defence.
Yet he appears to have chosen not to speak out on the launch of the new readiness campaign despite its national significance.
Even Dan Jarvis, the security minister, who is leading on resilience, stayed away from journalists on Thursday, instead just publishing his ministerial statement and sending out a written post on social media.
This lacklustre approach was met privately with disappointment among members of the resilience community.
The concern - rightly or wrongly - is that it creates the impression that preparing the country (every post code!) for the possibility of any crisis, up to and including war, is not a top priority for the government.
news.sky.com/story/be-ready-…
Deborah Haynes retweeted
Be prepared… this is the UK government’s “APOCALIST”.
‼️What to stockpile for an emergency‼️
Dan Jarvis mentioned storms.
Wes Streeting went further…
Supermarket meltdowns if hostile states hack food supply chains & payment systems
Deborah Haynes retweeted
Remember that preparedness for winter/ weather is something we lost, not something new ❄️
Deborah Haynes retweeted
The government has published - without fanfare - new advice for all households on how to be ready for emergencies, which includes stockpiling enough food and water for three days.
Defence and security editor @haynesdeborah gives her analysis on the campaign's launch ⬇️
news.sky.com/story/be-ready-…
Deborah Haynes retweeted
People quite rightly pointing out costs of buying all this in one go. If you can buy or ask for a gift of one thing - buy a lamp/ torch. Light is the big difference in a power outage
🚨This is well worth downloading - it is a v useful guide about the kind of supplies you and your household might need to be self sufficient for 72 hours in the event of an emergency - from a flood or a power cut to war:
beready.campaign.gov.uk/wp-c…
RT @FennellJW: Another area where the lack of confidence and resulting timidity and dither in the Starmer government sapped the purpose of…
This quoted post is unavailable.