Saturday’s average of roughly £95, up from approximately £90 the week before, set an all-time record for any Saturday in Link’s records, which stretch back to 2014.

Sunday also broke new ground, with the typical withdrawal topping £90 for the first time ever on that day.

Despite the higher individual amounts, total Saturday withdrawals of £204million were actually 11 per cent lower than the same day in 2025, which Link attributed to stormy weather keeping people indoors.

Graham Mott, Link’s director of strategy, said it “seems likely that at least some people chose to take the Government’s advice and take out some extra cash to be ready for some sort of emergency”.

The withdrawals followed the launch of Labour’s “Be Ready” campaign, which urges every household to keep three days’ worth of essential supplies on hand in case of a crisis, whether caused by conflict, a cyber attack or a natural disaster.

A Government checklist recommends stockpiling nine litres of drinking water per person, along with non-perishable items such as tinned meat, vegetables and dried fruit.

Households are also advised to have a wind-up or battery-powered FM radio, torches, blankets, a charged power bank, a first aid kit, pet food, baby supplies, toiletries and copies of key documents.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham defended the initiative last week, stating: “We’re having the conversation with people about being better prepared because we’re living in a world where unexpected events seem to be becoming more and more common.”

Defence Secretary Wes Streeting went further, warning that households and businesses must consider how they would cope if sophisticated cyber attacks disrupted essential supply chains.

“How would we cope if the payment systems at the local supermarket went down?” he asked, speaking at the opening of a new gun hall in Telford on Thursday.

Mr Streeting cautioned that threats from hostile state actors, terrorists and organised criminals exploiting AI-driven tools would only grow, urging the public to be “alert but not alarmed”.

Appearing on BBC Question Time, Mr Streeting rejected an audience member’s suggestion that the campaign risked triggering panic buying reminiscent of the Covid-19 pandemic, insisting that European allies were “way ahead of us on some of this stuff”.

Shadow foreign secretary Tom Tugendhat described the preparedness advice as “a perfectly reasonable thing to ask people”.

His Conservative colleague Alicia Kearns, the shadow national security minister, took a sharper tone, accusing Labour of “lecturing the public” while neglecting its own responsibilities.

She said: “It isn’t families that are failing to fund our defence or secure reliable energy; it’s Labour. With rising threats to our national security, we must all be ready to face all eventualities. We each have a role to play, but the Government must lead by example.”

The “Be Ready” campaign was unveiled against the backdrop of a major global cybersecurity crisis, after a critical vulnerability was discovered in PHP, the programming language underpinning nearly 70 per cent of websites, according to Cloudflare.

The National Cyber Security Centre urged organisations to patch their systems immediately or take affected sites offline.

Thirty-two Government services were pulled offline on Thursday, with four more partially disrupted, as officials worked to address potential exposure.

Attempts to exploit the flaw were detected within hours of its disclosure, Amazon and Cloudflare reported.

Mr Streeting warned: “We’re going to find these sorts of things happening more and more.”

Britons Scramble to Withdraw Cash from ATMs After Labour Issues Ominous ‘Be Ready’ Emergency Guidance

Britain has been gripped by renewed debate over emergency preparedness after the Government launched its new “Be Ready” campaign, encouraging households to prepare for three days of potential disruption. The advice includes keeping essential supplies at home and having some cash available in case power cuts, cyberattacks or other emergencies affect everyday services.

Reports of unusually high ATM withdrawals over the weekend have added to the discussion, raising questions about whether the Government’s message has prompted people to take extra precautions with their money. The campaign is intended to help households prepare for unexpected events, but its timing and references to serious threats have also fuelled public concern. <Cite refs={[“turn623897search0″,”turn623897search4”]}/>

ATM Withdrawals Rise as Emergency Advice Reaches the Public

According to figures reported by British Bulletin, average cash withdrawals on Friday exceeded £100, while the typical amount withdrawn on Saturday reached approximately £95. Sunday withdrawals also reportedly passed £90 on average, marking a new high for that day in the data cited by the report. The figures suggest that some people may have responded to the Government’s recommendation to keep cash available during an emergency. <Cite refs={[“turn623897search4″,”turn623897search5”]}/>

However, the figures require careful interpretation. An increase in the average amount withdrawn does not necessarily mean that Britain is experiencing a widespread rush to empty bank accounts. Nor does it demonstrate that people expect the banking system to collapse.

The same report said total withdrawals on Saturday were lower than on the corresponding day in 2025, with poor weather offered as one possible explanation. That distinction matters: people withdrawing larger sums individually does not automatically mean that more people are withdrawing cash overall.

Nevertheless, the development has drawn attention to a practical question that many households rarely consider: what would happen if card payments, online banking or cash machines suddenly became unavailable?

For a population increasingly accustomed to contactless payments and digital banking, even a temporary interruption could make buying everyday necessities more difficult. Keeping a modest amount of cash at home can provide an alternative if electronic systems are disrupted.

What Is Labour’s ‘Be Ready’ Campaign?

The Government published updated household emergency advice on 22 October 2026 as part of a three-year campaign designed to improve the country’s resilience. The guidance asks households to consider how they would manage for approximately 72 hours if essential services were temporarily interrupted. <Cite refs={[“turn623897search0″,”turn623897search1”]}/>

The initiative covers a range of possible emergencies, including severe weather, flooding, wildfires, power failures, interruptions to water supplies and cyberattacks affecting essential services.

The central message is straightforward: households should not assume that electricity, internet access, mobile communications and electronic payments will always be available. Preparing a small collection of essential items in advance could help people cope while emergency services and utility providers work to restore normal operations.

Security Minister Dan Jarvis has presented the campaign as a practical measure intended to reduce pressure on emergency responders. The Government says the advice was developed with local authorities, emergency services, charities and other organisations, with an emphasis on recommendations that households can follow gradually and according to their circumstances. <Cite refs={[“turn623897search0″,”turn623897search1”]}/>

That is a very different message from an instruction to prepare for an imminent national catastrophe. The published guidance does not say that Britain is about to experience a major blackout, a banking collapse or a war on its own territory.

Yet the campaign has inevitably attracted attention because it asks people to prepare for disruptions that could affect essential parts of daily life.

Why Is the Government Asking People to Keep Cash?

One of the most striking elements of the advice is the recommendation to keep a mixture of banknotes and coins alongside bank cards.

The reason is practical. If a power cut affects payment terminals, a telecommunications outage interrupts transactions, or a cyber incident disrupts banking services, customers may find that their usual payment methods are temporarily unavailable.

Cash can provide a backup for buying basic necessities, particularly where shops remain open but cannot process electronic payments. Smaller denominations may also be useful when businesses cannot provide change easily.

The Government does not prescribe one universal amount for every household. The recommended reserve depends on individual circumstances, including family size, likely essential expenses and the needs of anyone who relies on regular purchases or medication. <Cite refs={[“turn623897search2″,”turn623897search3”]}/>

LINK, the UK’s cash machine network, has separately encouraged households to consider keeping emergency cash. Its chief executive suggested around £50 per adult and £25 per child as a possible starting point, although this is guidance from LINK rather than a compulsory Government requirement. <Cite refs={[“turn623897search5”]}/>

For many families, the sensible approach is to keep a manageable amount that could cover essential purchases for a short period, rather than withdrawing large sums in response to alarming headlines.

Cash should also be stored securely. Taking out more money than necessary can create additional risks if it is lost, stolen or damaged, and a household should not jeopardise its ability to pay ordinary bills simply to build an emergency reserve.