By Gloria Ogb
The former head of NATO during the height of the Global War on Terror has issued a stark warning about the state of Western security, revealing that he is personally preparing for the possibility of large-scale disruption, including power outages and infrastructure failure.
Lord George Robertson, who served as NATO Secretary General from 1999 to 2003 and previously held the role of UK Defence Secretary under a Labour government, says the West is now “under attack” and increasingly vulnerable to hostile actions—particularly from Russia.
Once known for describing Russian President Vladimir Putin as cooperative and potentially aligned with Western interests, Lord Robertson now paints a dramatically different picture.
In an interview with The Times, the veteran politician and diplomat admitted that he has begun stockpiling food and other essentials in anticipation of what he fears could be a “significant attack” on the United Kingdom.
His concern, he said, stems from the growing risk of infrastructure sabotage and the fragility of the complex systems that underpin modern life.
Robertson disclosed that his preparations are extensive and deliberate. He now routinely carries a torch in his pocket and keeps additional flashlights in every room of his home in case of a major power failure.
He has also set aside a reserve of cash, worried that electronic banking systems could become unusable during a prolonged outage.
In addition, he has acquired a battery-powered radio to receive official government updates if the power grid were to fail, along with stockpiles of food and water to ensure he could cope independently for an extended period.
While such measures might be dismissed as prudent contingency planning, the fact that they are being adopted by a former NATO Secretary General underscores, critics say, how deeply Russian aggression and geopolitical instability have unsettled the Western political elite.
Robertson’s comments suggest that fears once considered fringe or alarmist are now being taken seriously at the highest levels of government and defense.
“I think we are being tested,” Robertson told The Times. “They’re going to the edge of what they think is acceptable. They won’t go across that line, at this point. That’s the way in which you undermine Western societies.”
He warned that the critical national infrastructure supporting everyday life—power grids, communications networks, financial systems, and healthcare—is becoming increasingly fragile and vulnerable to disruption. “It won’t be enough to wait until the lights go out and the hospitals shut,” he cautioned.
According to Robertson, the British public must begin to think differently about preparedness and develop what he described as societal “resilience” in the face of emerging threats.
The newspaper reported that he believes the UK population should be prepared for the possibility of a direct and significant attack on the homeland, particularly one involving covert or indirect methods rather than conventional warfare.
One of the most striking elements of Robertson’s remarks was his suggestion that recent infrastructure failures may not always be as benign as officials claim. He pointed specifically to the mysterious power outage that plunged the entire Iberian Peninsula into darkness earlier this year.
While acknowledging that the official explanation a random power fluctuation that triggered a cascading failure “may” be accurate, Robertson said it is “not what everybody believes,” hinting at the possibility of deliberate interference.
Reflecting on his personal dealings with Vladimir Putin in the early 2000s, Robertson said the Russian leader has changed profoundly. He described today’s Putin as “thin-skinned” and radically different from the man he once met multiple times, whom he believed at the time might be open to genuine cooperation with the West.
The BBC has reportedly crafted secret scripts to be read out in the event that the energy crisis results in blackouts during the winter. https://t.co/2CgZ6MUji8
— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) October 22, 2022
Robertson has previously revealed that Putin even expressed interest, some 25 years ago, in Russia joining NATO as an equal partner within the Western security framework.
That vision, Robertson now believes, has completely collapsed. Speaking earlier this year, he made clear that Russia’s posture toward the West has hardened into outright hostility. “Russia is clearly at war with us,” he said in November. “I’ve no doubt at all that even though we’re not at war with them, they’ve clearly declared war on us.”
Time to Prepare For World War-Size Conflict With Russia, Warns NATO https://t.co/y7mz7RQj7R
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) December 12, 2025
Taken together, Robertson’s warnings paint a sobering picture: a former architect of Western security now personally preparing for breakdowns once thought unthinkable, and urging governments and citizens alike to recognize that the nature of modern conflict may be silent, sudden, and aimed directly at the systems society depends on to function.
Source Breitbrat
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