UK Shoppers Strip Shelves of Beans and Water After Government Emergency Advice

Bottled water, tinned food and batteries are selling out at some British retailers after the government urged households to put together emergency kits. Online grocer Ocado listed several brands of water as unavailable on Monday, according to AOL and the Daily Mail.

The rush follows a call from Defence Secretary Wes Streeting, who asked every household to hold three days' worth of non-perishable food and water in case of disruption from cyber attacks, hostile states or severe weather. Not every retailer reports a surge, however.

What has sold out, and where

Shoppers on Ocado could not buy Volvic, Highland Spring or Brecon Carreg bottled water on Monday, the Daily Mail reported. Various Heinz and Baxters soup ranges were also out of stock. An Ocado spokesman told The Times that demand for some products rose over the weekend and that the company was working with suppliers to improve availability. He said stock is replenished daily and suggested customers keep checking or book a delivery for later in the week.

Iceland said it saw a 40% increase in tinned product sales over the weekend, plus strong bottled water sales, and credited the government's message. It said its own supplies remain healthy. Booths, a chain based in northern England, reported some year-on-year sales increases in tinned goods, bottled water and batteries, but said recent storms may also be behind them.

Other items have moved too, according to AOL. Retailers reported that wind-up radios sold out after a fivefold surge in orders. Maplin said torch sales rose by 284% between Thursday and Saturday compared with the same period a month earlier, and its £18.99 Ionos Almere wind-up radio sold out on Friday. On Amazon's best-sellers page on Monday evening, bottled water and kitchen roll accounted for three of the four top-selling grocery products. Google Trends reported a rise of more than 5,000% in searches for “survival pack” in October compared with the same period last year.

What the government is asking households to hold

Streeting spoke on Thursday as he launched what AOL described as a national resilience conversation. His advice covered three days of non-perishable food, bottled water, an FM radio and blankets.

The Daily Mail said the official “Be Ready” guidance goes further. It includes at least nine liters of water per person, foods that can be prepared without electricity, backup chargers and pet food. It also lists a wind-up or battery radio, toilet paper and baby food, as well as cash in case electronic payments fail.

The announcement came as websites worldwide went down after a vulnerability was found in PHP, a widely used piece of website software, AOL reported. AOL also noted a Telegraph investigation that found Russian-deployed fishing trawlers had been spying on the UK's undersea cable network. Ministers say the guidance is part of a wider strategy to prepare Britain for severe weather, cyber attacks and foreign aggression, particularly from Russia, according to the Daily Mail.

What this means for shoppers

For people trying to buy these goods, the main effect so far is patchy availability online. Particular brands of water and some soups may be listed as unavailable, though Ocado says deliveries of fresh stock arrive daily. Iceland says its stocks of tinned goods and water are healthy.

The picture is not uniform. The Association of Convenience Stores said it saw no meaningful change in weekend sales, the Daily Mail reported. Supermarkets also say they are better prepared for demand spikes because of supply chain changes made after the Covid pandemic, when panic buying caused nationwide shortages of toilet paper, pasta and sanitizer. The Daily Mail cited sources who warned that some shoppers might take the stockpiling advice to extremes.

Political reaction

The prime minister, Burnham, defended the push at a summit on wildfire dangers on Friday, saying that “unexpected events seem to be becoming more and more common.” He pointed to storms and to people without power in Cornwall, and said the UK could face a winter of greater flooding. The Daily Mail reported that he chaired the summit alongside Housing Secretary Angela Rayner.

Critics quoted by the Daily Mail accused the government of delivering lectures and encouraging panic while not increasing defense spending. Earlier in the week, Burnham spoke lightly of the advice on BBC Radio 5, saying he keeps plenty of beans and soup at home and would add Twiglets to his own supplies.

Around Prague, based on reporting by AOL.co.uk, Daily Mail