CBRN attacks noted in UK National Risk Register 2026

The risk of small, medium and large-scale CBRN attacks have been named in the United Kingdom government's National Risk Register 2026.

In the register, it was noted that "malicious actors including terrorists, states or criminals remain interested in CBRN attack methods", although it is currently believed that terrorists are still more likely to use conventional methods to launch attacks against the UK.

"The scenarios included in the assessments involve the release of a toxic chemical, dispersal of a biological agent or dissemination of radiological material into a widespread area, and a nuclear event," the report said. "All scenarios in the assessments could result in potentially large numbers of casualties and fatalities and with all scenarios there is the potential for significant economic damage."

However, the risk of small, medium and large-scale CBRN attacks were still reported to be low. Large-scale CBRN attacks would be "catastrophic" in impact, however their likelihood was registered at less than 0.2%.

Meanwhile, medium-scale CBRN attacks would be "significant" in impact, but scored between 1-5% in likelihood. Smaller-scale CBRN attacks would be "limited" in impact, but scored between 5-25% in likelihood.

The full report can be found here.