The Article That "Doesn't Exist": Why Defra Must Acknowledge New Science on Prescribed Burning

It is a fundamental principle of government that policy must be driven by the best available evidence. When that evidence is overlooked - or explicitly denied - it raises serious questions about the foundations of decision-making in our countryside.

On 20 January 2026, Charlie Dewhirst MP submitted a straightforward Parliamentary Question to Defra:

"To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of the International Journal of Wildland Fire's article entitled Assessing soil heating beneath prescribed burns, published on 15 January 2026."

The response from Minister Mary Creagh on 28 January was baffling. She stated:

"The date and title of the citation provided does not correspond to any article published by the International Journal of Wildland Fire, but research on this topic is reviewed and taken into account in our policy development."

We feel it is necessary to set the record straight. The article does exist. It is published and readily available online.

A Worrying Oversight

The article in question was published online on 15 January 2026. Furthermore, this is not obscure, fringe research. The study is led by authors from the University of Exeter - widely recognised as the UK’s pre-eminent institution for wildfire study - including Professor Claire Belcher, the Chair of Wildland Fire.

For a government department to be unable to locate a major article published in a leading international journal just days prior is genuinely perplexing. If Defra cannot find the evidence, how can they claim to be following it?

Why This Matters

This administrative error has real-world consequences. Defra has frequently asserted that prescribed burning harms the soil, using this as a justification for restrictive policies on moorland management.

However, this new research from Exeter challenges that narrative. The findings suggest that when conducted correctly, prescribed 'cool' burns do not heat the soil to damaging levels. This evidence directly contradicts the assumptions underpinning current restrictions on adaptive moorland management.

We urge the Minister and her team to look again. To assist, we are happy to provide the direct link to the article.

We ask that Defra reviews these findings urgently and corrects the Parliamentary record. We cannot manage our landscapes effectively if we are turning a blind eye to the science that supports them.