Ministers in Westminster are preparing for possible disruptions to food supplies as a result of rising tensions with Iran.
Leaked internal documents outline approaches being considered to manage potential shortages of vital goods, particularly carbon dioxide, which is used in the preservation of packaged meats, salads, and drinks if fighting continues into the summer season.
Business Secretary Peter Kyle said the public should understand that contingency planning is underway but stressed there is currently no immediate cause for concern.
Speaking to Times Radio, Mr Kyle described the situation as awkward for him since the leaks were obviously unhelpful, but said people could take comfort in knowing that this kind of planning and scenario modelling was being carried out. He recalled that during the Covid pandemic, Boris Johnson missed five Cobra meetings beforehand, and said that as someone who attends these gatherings, he could confirm the Prime Minister had been present from the very start and was personally overseeing detailed reviews across numerous areas of economic resilience.
The government has said the Iran conflict is not expected to lead to severe shortages, though shoppers may see reduced product availability in a worst-case scenario if fighting persists.
Mr Kyle said carbon dioxide supplies were not a concern for Britain at this time.
He told Sky News that should anything change, he would be open with the public about it so they could prepare. At present, people should continue as normal, enjoying beer, meats, and salads. However, there were also important uses for CO2 including MRI scanning, water purification, the civil nuclear power sector, and certain defence applications. CO2 had many requirements, which was why he had taken it seriously as long as six months ago rather than only recently.
Mr Kyle explained he mothballed a CO2-producing plant in Teesside shortly after becoming Business Secretary to prevent its permanent closure.
Following the outbreak of conflict, ministers provided funding to restart the Ensus bioethanol facility, which produces CO2 as a by-product, to boost supplies.
Tesco chief executive Ken Murphy said the supermarket chain was maintaining ongoing dialogue with the government about supply chain risks.
He told reporters the company stayed in continuous contact with officials for their contingency planning and fully supported their efforts. At that moment they had encountered no problems and were in a very strong position. They regularly communicated with suppliers and none had raised any concerns.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting also addressed supply fears, telling LBC he was confident that NHS provisions would remain secure. However, he said backup arrangements existed to give priority to ambulances should diesel supplies become constrained.
A government spokesperson said worst-case scenarios were a planning tool used by professionals and not a prediction of what would occur.
In related developments, Chancellor Rachel Reeves has broadened plans to cut electricity costs for thousands of British manufacturing firms.
An existing scheme offering electricity bill reductions of up to 25 percent for more than 7,000 companies is being expanded to cover 10,000 businesses.
Yet the GMB union said workers in gas-dependent industries, the ceramics sector and other manufacturing businesses were furious at the lack of support after being disgracefully excluded from the announcement.
Conservative shadow energy secretary Claire Coutinho criticised the policy, saying only a tiny fraction of businesses would gain from it.