Cricket pundit and Daily Mail columnist Ian Botham criticises Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham over his handling of wildfire risk, arguing he has relied on symbolic gestures, such as triggering a national emergency phone alert, rather than tackling the underlying cause: excess vegetation on moorland. Botham contends that government restrictions on livestock grazing and winter heather burning, imposed by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), have allowed flammable vegetation to accumulate, worsening the wildfire risk as summers grow hotter.

Botham cites figures from the Moorland Association showing 25% more flammable grass due to reduced grazing and 74% more dead heather from the winter burning ban, alongside a six-fold rise in UK land burnt by wildfires over the past decade (from 24,805 hectares in 2006-2015 to 151,954 in 2016-2025). He references research from York University and Exeter University suggesting winter burns actually keep peat wetter and more resilient to fire, and notes that Freedom of Information requests raised doubts about the rigour of a 2025 Natural England paper underpinning Defra's burning ban, with reviewers reportedly admitting they had not fully read it. He warns that without action before a predicted "Super El Nino" next year, wildfires could be even worse.