UK politics: Burnham urges retailers to stop selling disposable barbecues after emergency Cobra meeting – as it happened

Prime minister Andy Burnham has urged “all retailers big and small” to withdraw the sale of disposable barbecues in order to prevent more wildfires this summer, as he warned extreme heat conditions “could be with us for some weeks yet”.

His comments came after chairing a meeting of the Government’s emergency Cobra committee in response to the prolonged spell of exceptionally hot and dry weather.

Most major UK supermarkets have suspended sales of disposable barbecues in recent weeks in line with voluntary guidance from the NFCC.

England and Wales have already seen as many wildfires this year as in the whole of 2025.

Some 1,017 wildfires have been recorded in England and Wales this year, according to data shared by the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC), the same as last year’s record-breaking total.