Heatwave latest: Burnham sends army to battle South Wales wildfires after emergency alert sent to millions

Andy Burnham is facing fresh calls to block new drilling for oil and gas in the North Sea, after he said “we have to face up to the changing climate”.

Environmental campaigners have warned extraction from the Rosebank oil field and Jackdaw gas field will pave the way for extreme heat in the years to come.

The Prime Minister told reporters on Friday that he wanted to see an acceleration in the transition towards fossil fuel-free energy sources.

He was speaking in Stourbridge in the West Midlands, where 19 houses were fully destroyed and 18 damaged in a wildfire this week.

Almost three-quarters of England and the whole of Wales are in drought, and 2026 is the first year on record to see three separate days where temperatures reached the 37C threshold, as well as the first year with four days at 36C or above.

“We have to face up to the changing climate and I think we need a different debate about that,” Mr Burnham said.

“There’s no point denying where we are – we need to face up to it.

“We need more clean energy.

“We need to see that transition accelerate.”

Mr Burnham has faced pressure from Washington DC to approve drilling in the North Sea.

As we reported earlier, Mr Burnham has sent in the military to help deal with wildfires across the UK.

“Britain is a tinderbox right now”, the prime minister said, with “37 fires smouldering around the country”.

He said 100 military personnel – from Queen’s Own Gurkha Logistic Regiment, supported by the 22 Engineer Regiment – had been deployed to South Wales to offer “critically needed” support to fight fires throughout the region.

Among their equipment are four water bowsers, each capable of storing and transporting 20,000 litres of water, and a further 100 members of the Armed Forces were deployed on Friday evening.

Aerial firefighting capacity, such as helicopters to dampen flames, will be commissioned at a national level, Mr Burnham added.

The UK government alert went off just as BBC Proms was due to play Marvin Gaye’s ‘I Heard It Through The Grapevine’.

Fire services have urged people not to call 999 to report people having barbecues unless there is an emergency following the Government’s alert about wildfires.

The UK’s mobile phone alert system was used on Friday evening to warn people not to light anything which could spark a wildfire, including barbecues and garden incinerators.

Surrey Fire & Rescue Service was among those experiencing a “high volume” of 999 calls.

In a statement on X, the service said: “Please only call 999 if there is an emergency or a fire producing significant smoke.

“We understand residents may be concerned, but we are unable to respond to reports of neighbours having BBQs, bonfires or campfires in their gardens unless there is an emergency.”

The service said it supported the Government’s message and advised against bonfires, fireworks, campfires or disposable barbecues in the dry conditions.

Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service said it appreciated the public’s “vigilance”, but in a statement on Facebook asked people to call 999 only if there is “a genuine emergency or an immediate risk to life, property or the environment”.

That message was echoed by South Wales Fire and Rescue Service, who asked for 999 calls only to report “a new emergency”.

Angela Rayner, the communities secretary, said that her department will hold a summit for fire chiefs and the firefighters union to look at future responses to wildfires

“As well as supporting firefighters on the ground now, my department will hold a summit bringing together fire chiefs, the National Fire Chiefs’ Council, the Fire Brigades Union and other key organisations to look at our future response.

“To the residents affected, particularly those who lost their homes and their life’s possessions to fire – we will work with the mayor and local leaders to make sure you are supported.”

Mike Sammon, Liberal Democrats councillor for Cambridge Ward, Southport, has urged the public to heed the government alert’s warning after his father’s house caught fire.

“Yesterday my Dad’s house caught fire following a neighbour’s disposable bbq. He is okay and the fire brigade arrived quickly, but he has had to move out whilst the insurance deals with the fire damage. The Government alert this evening is a warning we should all take seriously.”