Britain’s resilience starts with all of us
Britain must close the gap between recognising threats and knowing how to respond. That was the central message from Lady Olga Maitland during her contribution to a Chief Disruptor webinar on the changing security environment.
Speaking about grey zone threats, critical infrastructure and public preparedness, Lady Olga set out why national resilience must become a shared priority for government, businesses, communities and citizens.
Her argument was clear: a country that understands the threats it faces, and has the confidence and capability to respond, is harder to intimidate.
“National resilience is not simply a government capability. It is a form of deterrence.”
Conflict has changed. Public understanding must catch up.
Many people still associate conflict with an invasion, a formal declaration or troops crossing a border. Lady Olga challenged that understanding, describing how hostile states can exert pressure through cyber attacks, sabotage, espionage, disinformation and interference with critical infrastructure.
These activities can disrupt a country without producing the unmistakable moment people traditionally associate with the start of war.
Everyday life may continue largely as normal. Transport operates, payments go through and the internet works. Yet beneath that apparent stability, vulnerabilities can be tested and confidence gradually weakened.
Lady Olga explained that this is what makes grey zone activity so challenging: individual incidents can appear isolated, while their cumulative effect places pressure on institutions, businesses and public trust.
Britain’s island geography offers little protection against threats that travel through digital networks, international supply chains and the information environment.
Business resilience is part of national security
For business leaders, Lady Olga’s contribution connected geopolitical threats directly to operational and economic resilience.
A cyber attack may initially appear to be an IT problem. Its consequences can quickly spread to suppliers, customers, employees and investors. In an interconnected economy, disruption rarely stays neatly within the organisation first affected.
That makes resilience a leadership responsibility with implications well beyond technical recovery.
Understanding critical dependencies, preparing for interruptions and knowing how to communicate during disruption all contribute to a business’s ability to withstand pressure. Collectively, those capabilities also strengthen the country.
Lady Olga highlighted the infrastructure behind everyday economic activity, including energy systems, telecommunications and subsea cables carrying communications and data.
She also stressed the need for care when attributing incidents. Not every cable outage is hostile activity. The existence of a vulnerability, however, remains a reason to take preparedness seriously.
As she explained, critical infrastructure must be understood as strategic infrastructure.
The resilience gap: concern without participation
One of the most striking points in Lady Olga’s remarks concerned the gap between public concern and personal responsibility.
Citing The Resilience Imperative’s polling, she said that 86% of people believe the world is becoming more dangerous, yet only 12% believe they personally have a role in improving Britain’s resilience.
People recognise the danger, but many do not see themselves as part of the response.
“If people see danger but feel powerless, the result is anxiety. If people understand what they can do, the result is agency.”
Closing that gap requires more than raising awareness. People need to understand how resilience relates to their own lives, what practical action they can take and how their contribution fits into a wider national effort.
For households, businesses and communities alike, the aim is to replace uncertainty with the confidence to act.
Preparedness should build confidence
Lady Olga was explicit that public preparedness should not be an exercise in frightening people.
People are better placed to cope with disruption when they understand what is happening and know what they are expected to do. Clear information and practical preparation can reduce confusion and help communities respond with greater confidence.
She pointed to countries including Finland, Sweden, Poland and the Baltic states, where preparedness forms part of a more open conversation with citizens.
The lesson for Britain is to make resilience understandable, relevant and actionable. That means treating preparedness as an ordinary responsibility shared across society.
A national priority that transcends politics
National resilience requires sustained commitment. Governments change, but the need to protect essential services, maintain public confidence and prepare for disruption continues.
Lady Olga therefore called for an approach that transcends party politics.
Government has a central responsibility, but businesses, communities, schools, universities, the media and individual citizens all influence how well the country can withstand pressure.
A prepared population also strengthens the foundations for long-term decisions. When people understand what is at stake, they are better able to participate in the debate about the capabilities and investment Britain needs.
Turning awareness into action
Lady Olga’s contribution reflected the mission at the heart of The Resilience Imperative: turning awareness into agency, participation and sustained public support for a more resilient country.
Resilience matters before a crisis, as well as during one. It helps demonstrate that disruption will not easily undermine confidence, divide communities or prevent essential activity from continuing.
Her closing message captured the purpose of that work:
“Our task is not to alarm the British public. It is to prepare them.”
Help make resilience a national priority. Join The Resilience Imperative to stay informed and support the conversation about a more prepared, confident Britain.
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