Green Party leader Zack Polanski has called for fossil fuel companies to be taxed to fund firefighting helicopters, warning that the UK faces "the biggest threat to this country since the Second World War" amid a spate of wildfires. Speaking at a press conference in central London, he urged Prime Minister Andy Burnham to halt new North Sea oil and gas drilling, singling out the Rosebank and Jackdaw fields, arguing the government has so far offered "no emergency briefings, no new plan" to protect people from the crisis.

Polanski was joined by broadcaster Chris Packham, who called for a public wildfire warning system and tougher action on misinformation, as well as a shift towards plant-based diets to tackle biodiversity loss linked to animal agriculture. The remarks follow recent wildfires at Dunwich Heath in Suffolk, Llanwonno in South Wales's Rhondda Valleys, and the Cairngorms National Park in Scotland; Polanski said firefighting should never again rely on a charity funding a private helicopter firm, and also called for water companies to be brought into public ownership amid drought conditions.