Prime Minister Burnham Considers Disposable Barbecue Ban Amid Wildfire Concerns

Prime Minister Andy Burnham held a COBRA meeting on Wednesday, August 12, in response to extreme heat and climate chaos.

The meeting's outcome included a request not to sell disposable barbecues, and Burnham stated the government would certainly consider banning them. He claimed that many of the devastating wildfires, which have raged from the Cairngorms to the New Forest, were started by one-use grills. Burnham emphasized the need to send a loud and clear message that people should not use these barbecues outside at this time.

He acknowledged, "I don’t know yet what the remedy is, but I do want to leave the meeting today with a loud and clear message that we do want people to take the greatest possible care when they are out in the countryside, both in terms of cigarettes, but also those temporary barbecues that we know are causing risk of fires."

Critics, including Green Party leader Zack Polanski, called Burnham's response a dire and outrageous failure. Polanski suggested alternative solutions such as nationalizing water companies, taxing fossil fuel companies, and investing in renewables. Parts of the UK could face 38C temperatures later this week, and the Met Office revealed the UK is on course for its hottest summer on record.

Some areas are experiencing their fifth heatwave of the summer. An amber extreme heat warning has been issued for London and parts of the South East, East Midlands, East of England, West Midlands, and South Yorkshire from 9 am to midnight on Thursday.