‘Realistic and reassuring’: UK public ‘responding calmly’ to Be Ready campaign

There is no evidence government’s advice has triggered mass panic stockpiling of groceries and other essentials. Photograph: Simon Leigh/Alamy

When the UK government launched its “Protect and Survive” public information campaign in 1980 on how to stay alive after a nuclear attack, it was met with a combination of scepticism, disbelief and derision.

The advice included how to build a “fallout room” at home, how to whitewash windows to protect from a blast, and how to store a dead body for up to five days.