Burnham: We will protect ‘tinderbox’ Britain from raging wildfires

Andy Burnham has vowed to ramp up efforts to protect “tinderbox” Britain from raging wildfires and insisted the government would not “shrink” from the battle against climate change. Writing exclusively for The Independent, the prime minister pledged to send in more helicopters to tackle the crisis and vowed to stick to Labour’s target of reaching net zero by 2050 to “save our children’s future”. And he promised to send in more military to ease pressure on the ground and support wildfire evacuations after 200 troops were deployed to aid communities on Friday. It comes after he announced a ban on disposable barbecues that have sparked blazes across the country, telling Britons not to light an open fire “of any kind” and to dispose of cigarettes carefully amid a “combustible” situation. He added: “You are taking risks with other people’s homes, with other people’s lives, if you act recklessly.” Writing in The Independent, Mr Burnham said the impacts of the relentless heat and drought of record-breaking heatwaves were “on a scale that we simply haven’t seen before”. He wrote: “This summer has shown beyond doubt that climate change is not a far-off prospect, but with us today. None of us can pretend we cannot see it.” open image in gallery Prime minister Andy Burnham visits Stourbridge in the West Midlands (Reuters) “I know people are deeply worried about the climate crisis and what it means for them and their children’s future. So let me say again very directly – there can be no turning away from the fight against climate change. This government will hold to the target of reaching net zero by 2050 and continue to work with other countries to protect our planet,” he added. “This summer has shown everyone what is at stake. So we will not shrink from this battle. This government will rise to the moment and build a better, fairer, greener and more resilient Britain.” He recommitted to building nine new reservoirs to tackle water supply issues, as most of the country is in drought, and said he would look at measures to ensure hospitals, schools and homes are better adapted to deal with extreme temperatures. You know, it’s just unbelievably devastating for people in this in this position. Speaking about practical measures to tackle the blazes, Mr Burnham said: “We have a system of mutual aid in play at the moment, where fire and rescue services are supporting each other, but with so many incidents, it is crucial that the military support is there if fire and rescue services can’t do the same backup that they would normally be doing.