BBC prepares secret scripts for possible use in winter blackouts

Exclusive: Scripts set out how corporation will reassure public in event of major power loss

The BBC has prepared secret scripts which could be broadcast if energy shortages cause blackouts or the loss of gas supplies this winter.

The scripts, seen by the Guardian, set out how the corporation would reassure the public in the event that a major loss of power" causes mobile telephone networks, the internet, banking systems, or traffic lights to fail across England, Wales and Scotland. Northern Ireland would be unaffected because its electricity grid is shared with the Republic of Ireland.