SIR Oliver Letwin will cast a critical eye over our ‘faith’ in technology when he speaks in Ilkley next month.

In his new book, Apocalypse How?: Technology and the Threat of Disaster, the former government minister looks ten years into the future and imagines a country where the national grid has collapsed.

He goes on to show how law and order would disintegrate in such circumstances given our reliance on the Internet, automated electric cars, voiceover IP and GPS.

The book shines a light on the inherent risks of our increasing dependence on technology while the author outlines how he thinks businesses and government should prepare to respond to catastrophic events - such as a solar flare - that may currently seem unlikely or far-off.

Sir Oliver had more than three decades of experience at the heart of the government and was an MP from 1997 until 2019.

A former cabinet minister and member of the National Security Council as the minister with responsibility for the UK’s national resilience, he led an investigation into the resilience of the UK’s infrastructure.

He will give readings from the book and discuss some of the issues it examines when he appears at All Saints’ Church on Thursday, March 19.

The Ilkley Literature Festival event starts at 6pm.

Tickets cost £10 or £7 for concessions.

Places can be booked by calling (01943) 816714 or visiting nwww.ilkleyliteraturefestival.org.uk/events/oliver-letwin-technology-and-the-threat-of-disaster.