Lord Botham Highlights Wildfire Emergency
- Rob Beeson
- Aug 14
- 1 min read
In a powerful column for the Daily Mail, Lord Botham warns that the UK is facing its worst wildfire season on record - and that government policy is making it worse.
Citing official warnings from the National Fire Chiefs Council, he points to the growing danger of wildfires crossing into populated areas, with serious risks to public health. The 2018 Saddleworth Moor blaze, for example, affected over five million people with smoke inhalation - resulting in more than 20 premature deaths.
Lord Botham criticises Labour’s current approach, led by Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner and Natural England, which aims to restrict the use of winter burning on moorlands. He argues that banning controlled burns - a traditional practice used for generations - increases the risk of summer wildfires by allowing vegetation to build up into dangerous fuel loads.
Highlighting policies that reduce livestock grazing and push for rewilding, he warns this will lead to more dangerous fires, threaten rural jobs, and demonise the very people - gamekeepers and land managers - who are best placed to protect the countryside.
As global authorities from the G7 to the White House support preventative burns to reduce wildfire risks, Botham calls for a return to common sense and local stewardship.
