Andy Burnham temporarily banned disposable BBQ grill sales on Friday as wildfires burned in the West Midlands. He also said he had called in the military, in a fast-moving response tied to the heat and fire risk that has grown across Britain.
Burnham told reporters in Stourbridge: “Britain is a tinderbox right now, and please just have that in your mind”. He said fire and rescue services will get more cash, and he will gather firefighters for a summit at the end of summer.
West Midlands wildfire response
The ban applies immediately, making disposable barbecue use a restricted activity during the emergency period Burnham announced. He linked the decision to the wildfires burning in the West Midlands and to the wider heat conditions he described from Stourbridge.
Burnham had already convened an emergency Cobra meeting on Wednesday before announcing the ban on Friday. His latest step adds a second layer to the response: military support alongside extra funding for fire and rescue services.
Ed Davey on Cobra
Ed Davey called for Burnham to reconvene Cobra over the extreme heat and wildfires. In a statement, he said: “The country is burning – devastating wild fires in the Midlands and the New Forest, hospitals dangerously overheating and the heat’s impact on our railways – and Andy Burnham’s only solution so far seems to be preventing the sale of disposable barbecues”.
He added: “With the fifth hottest day on record, and Britain’s fifth heatwave of the year, we’re well past that. Burnham needs to reconvene Cobra immediately and set out a proper plan. That plan needs to fully meet this moment, a proper strategy to make the UK climate-ready for this summer and beyond”.
End of summer summit
For people affected by the ban, the immediate change is simple: disposable barbecue sales are temporarily off limits while Burnham’s emergency response continues. The one open question that still shapes the restriction is how long it will remain in force, even as the promised extra cash and the end-of-summer summit point to a longer fire-service response beyond Friday.
