General Sir Richard Barrons KCB CBE, Co-Chair of Universal Defence and Security Solutions, will feature as Chief of Defence Staff in Sky’s forthcoming four-part series The Wargame, a fictional crisis simulation exploring how a UK government might respond to war with Russia.
The series, due to air in September, brings together a cross-party group of senior political figures, defence leaders and international experts to test how the UK might react to a major hostile act on British soil. Former Conservative minister Michael Gove will act as Prime Minister, with former First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon as Deputy Prime Minister. The fictional Cabinet will also include Dame Penny Mordaunt as Defence Secretary, Jim Murphy as Foreign Secretary, Baroness Harriet Harman as Home Secretary, Baroness Sayeeda Warsi as Attorney General, and Baroness Ayesha Hazarika as Director of Communications.
Lord Kim Darroch, former British Ambassador to the United States, will appear as National Security Adviser, while General Sir Richard Barrons will bring military insight to the role of Chief of Defence Staff.
The format will place the participants inside Cobra-style emergency meetings following a fictional Russian attack on UK soil. They will be challenged to make difficult decisions under pressure, balancing national security, public communication, military response, alliance commitments and the wider consequences of escalation.
For UDSS, General Barrons’ involvement is particularly significant. As a former Commander Joint Forces Command and one of the UK’s most respected voices on defence, resilience and national preparedness, he has consistently argued that the UK must think more seriously about the realities of modern conflict.
Today’s threats do not sit neatly within traditional military boundaries. Cyber attacks, sabotage, disinformation, infrastructure disruption, economic coercion and attacks on critical national systems can all form part of a hostile campaign. A conflict involving Russia would not be confined to the battlefield. It would test government, industry, society, supply chains, communications, finance, energy, transport and public confidence.
That is why a programme such as The Wargame matters. While it is a television format, the scenario it explores is far from abstract. The UK and its allies are operating in an increasingly contested security environment. Russia’s war in Ukraine has demonstrated the speed at which conflict can reshape assumptions, expose vulnerabilities and demand whole-of-government and whole-of-society responses.
General Barrons’ role in the series reflects the importance of expert military judgement in national decision-making. In any serious crisis, political leaders need clear, direct and realistic advice on capability, escalation, deterrence, alliance obligations and the practical consequences of action or inaction. The role of Chief of Defence Staff is not only to advise on the use of military force, but to help government understand what is credible, what is possible, and what risks are being carried.
This is also central to UDSS’ wider work. The UK’s defence and security challenges cannot be addressed by government alone. They require closer collaboration between defence, industry, finance, technology, academia and civil society. Resilience must be designed, invested in and rehearsed before crisis comes.
The Strategic Defence Review made clear that the UK must adapt to a more dangerous world. Programmes such as The Wargame can help widen public understanding of what that means in practice. They bring into sharper focus the decisions leaders may one day have to make, and the importance of being prepared before those decisions are forced upon us.
General Barrons’ participation is a reminder that national security is not theoretical. It is a matter of planning, capability, leadership and resolve.
As geopolitical risk continues to intensify, the question for the UK is not simply how it would respond to a crisis, but whether it is doing enough now to deter one, withstand one and recover from one.
The Wargame will air on Sky in September.