Labour is planning on introducing a Dad’s Army-style Home Guard to protect key British infrastructure against attack from enemy states and terrorists, according to reports. It is said the plans are being put forward in the Government’s long-awaited Strategic Defence Review (SDR) expected to be published in the coming weeks.

The unit will reportedly be based on the Home Guard set up in the 1940s during the Second World War as a final line of defence against a potential German invasion of Britain. Members were typically men too old or young to serve on the frontline, as well as those deemed unfit or ineligible. The Home Guard today would be made up of thousands of volunteers who would be tasked to safeguard infrastructure such as nuclear power plants, airports and telecommunications sites, The Sunday Times reported.

It is claimed personnel from the unit could also deploy to sensitive sites such as energy stations providing power to major airports.

Heathrow, the UK and Europe’s busiest airport, was closed in March after a fire at a nearby electrical substation halted operations.

While specific details of how the Home Guard will operate is not clear, it is understood the volunteers would be civilians, with local hubs formed around the country, according to The Sunday Times.

The Home Guard is expected to be structured similarly to the Army reserves and will be separate from existing organisations.

It will likely be used to assist units such as the Civil Nuclear Constabulary which protects British nuclear sites.

The Home Guard plan is reportedly a key part of the SDR which will examine threats facing the UK and how the country must address them.

It is said while there are no fears of an immediate invasion, the review has found Britain’s critical national infrastructure has vulnerabilities from hostile states.

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, there have been a series of incidents in the Baltic Sea in which power cables, telecom links and gas pipelines have been damaged - many of which have been blamed on Moscow, something Russia has repeatedly denied.

The SDR reportedly calls for the Royal Navy to play a more significant role in protecting such underwater infrastructure, with the Home Guard focusing on sites on land.

Nations such as Denmark, Germany and Sweden currently operate a type of Home Guard.

Dad’s Army was a popular BBC comedy series in the 1960s and 1970s based on Home Guard volunteers during the Second World War.