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Andy Burnham has called on retailers to voluntarily halt the sale of disposable barbecues due to the heightened danger of wildfires caused by this summer’s drought conditions. The prime minister urged “all retailers big and small” to follow voluntary guidance and suspend sales during periods of extreme heat. Looking ahead, he mentioned that the government may consider imposing an official ban on single-use barbecues during the summer months.
This appeal follows discussions at an emergency Cobra meeting convened to address the government’s response to record-breaking temperatures. Several major supermarkets and retailers have already stopped selling disposable barbecues in line with a 2023 framework agreed upon by fire chiefs and the British Retail Consortium (BRC). This framework advises retailers to suspend sales of these barbecues when an extreme heat event is declared imminent or when local councils make “reasonable, evidence based” requests.
Burnham highlighted that single-use grills have been linked to a number of recent fires, warning the public against using them “at this moment in time.” He emphasised the importance of caution when outdoors, mentioning both cigarettes and disposable barbecues as sources of fire risk. Following the Cobra meeting, he urged retailers once again to refrain from putting these products on sale currently. Nearly 75% of England, along with all of Wales, has been officially declared in drought, creating conditions ripe for wildfire spread. The Met Office has also issued an amber extreme heat warning for Thursday, forecasting temperatures potentially reaching 38C across parts of England.
The Cobra meeting included ministers from several departments, including Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Home Office, and Health, along with representatives from the Environment Agency. While there has been a prior Cobra meeting on heatwaves conducted by officials earlier in the year, this was the first emergency session chaired by Burnham himself. Earlier in June, under former prime minister Sir Keir Starmer, the government announced plans to station specialist firefighting resources in key locations and encouraged wildfire forces to use government funds to upgrade their equipment.
Burnham had faced pressure from the Green Party to convene a Cobra meeting regarding the heatwaves. Green Party leader Zack Polanski criticised what he described as the prime minister’s inaction, highlighting the risks to public health and food security. Although Polanski welcomed the recent meeting, he stressed that “it was not enough just to discuss” the challenges posed by extreme heat. He called for measures such as flexible working hours to help workers avoid the hottest parts of the day and for a legally mandated maximum workplace temperature. The Green Party has also advocated for more publicly accessible cooling spaces for vulnerable populations and financial aid to help households make their homes more heat-resistant.
Fire officials have warned that wildfires are increasingly becoming a frequent and serious threat to communities due to climate change. In July alone, fire crews responded to 393 wildfires across England and Wales, marking the highest number recorded in any month
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