Emergency supply sales surge after UK Be Ready stockpile advice
Retailers report sharp rises in sales of power banks, radios, torches and tinned food after the government told households to keep three days of emergency supplies.
How it was covered
- BBC One carried 56% of the airtime.
- Channel 5, BBC News, BBC Two, Channel 4 and Sky News: not found in tracked broadcasts.
- GB News: covered online, not found on air.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story. Facts only one channel reported are attributed to it.
The government's Be Ready campaign has led to a sharp rise in sales of emergency supplies, according to retailers, after households were told to prepare for extreme weather, wildfires or cyber attacks. The advice is to keep enough food and water for three days. Retailers and supermarkets reported higher demand for items including power banks, portable radios, torches, batteries, bottled water, tinned food and jerry cans. There is no evidence of widespread panic buying, and the response appears to be people acting on the government's message.
Figures from retailers varied. One retailer said power bank sales were up 327% on the previous week, portable radio sales were up 160% and torch sales were up 141%. Another reported radio sales up 160% in a week. An electrical retailer reported torch sales up 284% compared with a month earlier and power bank sales up 106%. The supermarket Iceland reported a 40% rise in demand for tinned products. Shops also reported more demand for water purifiers and jerry cans. In the Vale of Glamorgan, shelves of tinned goods and water needed replenishing. Some shoppers bought candles and matches, while others questioned the three-day advice, pointing to cost of living pressures.
The government's checklist includes sleeping bags, batteries and blankets, as well as bottled water at about three litres per person per day and long-lasting food such as canned goods. Shops advised people to keep cash ready in case a major internet or power failure prevents electronic payments.
Security minister Dan Jarvis stressed that the advice was not issued in response to any immediate or serious threat. He said it brought the UK in line with almost every other European country. Asked how the message would reach older and vulnerable people, and those without internet access, he said the information would appear in more places in the coming days, including on radio and in communities. The government also pointed to recent extreme weather and power cuts as evidence of why the campaign was needed, with tens of thousands of people without power that weekend, including people the minister met in Cornwall.
Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, grouped by how many channels reported each one. Select a dot to see the source excerpt.
| Claim |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reported by all 3 channels | |||
| Retailers reported large sales increases after the campaign, including Robert Dyas radios up 160% in a week and Preppers Shop UK demand up about 650%, with wind-up radios selling out. | Reported by BBC News | ||
| Security ministers defended the emergency advice, saying it was not prompted by an immediate or serious threat, that the UK was aligning with better-prepared European neighbours, and that recent extreme weather and power outages showed it was needed. | Reported by BBC News | ||
| The government updated its emergency preparedness website with advice for households to be self-sufficient for three days, store 72 hours of bottled water and non-perishable food, and for eligible people to sign up to the priority services register, citing rising threats at home and abroad. | Reported by BBC News | Reported by BBC One | |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
ITV's political correspondent reported live from outside Robert Dyas in central London and framed the story around whether the government's messaging was working. It led with the sales percentages and gave space to the security minister's reassurance that there is no immediate threat, plus questions about reaching older and offline audiences. It did not carry shopper vox pops or the full checklist details.
- “sales of power banks have shot up by 327% compared to the previous week”
- “there's no evidence of any kind of widespread panic buying”
- “He said it simply brings the UK in line with almost every other European country.”
BBC focused on the view from a shopping street in the Vale of Glamorgan, with bare shelves and shopper comments, before setting out the three-day checklist and retailer figures. It used different figures from Robert Dyas and Maplin, included the advice to keep cash, and gave more weight to the minister's argument that recent extreme weather justified the campaign. It also showed scepticism from some shoppers about the three-day target.
- “major retailers have reported a sharp rise in sales of tin food bottled water wind up radios and batteries”
- “Robert Dyas told bbc newsnight that radio sales have gone up by 160 in a week”
- “the security minister today said that the recent extreme weather demonstrated why their campaign was needed”
Who was on air
People and organisations each channel put on air while covering this story. Channels' own presenters and reporters are not listed. Names as transcribed, and the list can miss people.
- 19:18 GMT
Dan Jarvis, security minister
ITV Evening News · Tue 27 Oct
Broadcast Timeline
News broadcasts tracked for this story, in time order.