MPs and experts have called for an overhaul of the Home Office’s strategy to tackle drug-related crime after an Eastern Eye investigation revealed a steep increase in the number of south Asians being arrested for drug offences.
After an 11-month investigation, we can disclose that in at least one force, data shows an almost 40 per cent rise year-on-year in Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi arrests.
We can also reveal that the Home Office does not have a specific plan to tackle drug crime in south Asian communities.
The MP for Slough and shadow rail minister, Tan Dhesi, is concerned that the police appear to be taking a “one-size-fit-all” approach to policing.
“When we're dealing with issues of crime, and in this case drugs, we cannot have a one size fits all model. We need to look at regional disparities. We need to look at disparities urban and rural, we need to look at what is going on beneath the surface within different communities.”
Analysis by the Sentencing Council also reveals that Asians are 1.5 times more likely to be sent immediately to jail than white offenders. Black people are 1.4 times more likely.
Analysing data
Using the Freedom of Information Act, Eastern Eye examined eight police force areas with a high Asian population, by asking them for their arrest figures for drug offences during 2018 and 2019.
We can reveal that in three force areas the percentage rise year-on-year was higher for Asians than black and white people.
In one force, the fall in the number of arrests was lowest among Asians.
The Labour MP for Birmingham Perry Barr, Khalid Mahmood, said the police were failing to interrogate the data.
“They have to understand local communities, and I think also they have to understand what the links are,” he said. “They have to get better intelligence. They should have far more officers from the Asian community, they should listen and learn from them, and give them the priority to understand what the community is like.”
When Eastern Eye asked the Home Office for its strategic approach to tackling drug offences specifically in south Asian communities, it refused to answer despite several attempts.
The south Asian problem
For decades drug services refused to acknowledge that usage and dealing existed in south Asian communities.
It was the work in the 1980s of the now Professor, Lord Patel of Bradford, which showed that Asians were producing, distributing and using.
This reporter worked with Lord Patel to investigate and highlight the lack in intelligence almost 25 years ago.
More than two decades on, among south Asian communities things have got worse, according to dealers, former dealers and experts.
“We as a society ignored it, we as the Asian community ignored it, lots of services ignored it,” said the peer. “We were not collecting good ethnic data to identify hotspots and what was happening, and that enabled a larger criminal market and a more sophisticated criminal market to grow. Something I predicted many years ago would inevitably happen.”
By talking to former and current dealers Eastern Eye can reveal what has changed in a quarter of a century, or a generation ago.
Where once Asians stuck to heroin, they have branched out to other Class A drugs.
The use of organised crime syndicates and county line gangs has increased with routes across England. From Bradford the drugs will be couriered to Manchester to Stoke/Birmingham (West Midlands) to Derby/Nottingham to Leicester (East Midlands) to Bristol (the south west) to Slough (the south east) to London.
We knew that organised criminals worked along familial lines with brothers, uncles, aunts and in-laws all involved in the trade. But over time, the criminal ties have become even slicker and harder to catch.
Where once south Asian children were kept away, some as young as 7 are now being groomed for drug and gun running.
It is the same with south Asian women. Where once they would be off-limits, girls as young as 14 are now being deliberately hooked on heroin, crack, cocaine and crystal meths and forced into prostitution, dealing and distribution.
Kalpana makes up to £5,000 a week dealing drugs.
At 33, Kalpana* from Leicester is a veteran in the drugs trade, fast climbing up her syndicate’s ladder.
If there were seven levels from the drug lord to street dealer, she is at fourth base. She has her own driver, can earn up to £5,000 per week, and the group above her can make £10,000.
Kalpana has never been caught.
“No one will ever guess that I deal,” she told Eastern Eye. “I’m respectable. I don’t run around, I don’t drive around. They come to me for appointments to buy their cues [seven ounces of heroin or crack or cocaine].
“It’s been difficult with the lockdown and Covid, but I’m still earning. I’ve never been convicted, never been suspected because I keep my mouth shut. I go for those who’re employed on a regular income and want their fix, who I’ve known and who are not noticeable.”
But her story is one this paper has heard time and again, where an Asian man hooks an Asian woman on drugs.
“When I look back on it, I realise I’d been tricked into taking a smoke laced with heroin. They knew what they were doing. They needed runners, and I was an easy target. First it was free, then once they knew I was hooked, they asked for money.
“I had no choice but to move in with him, and start to sell, distribute so I could feed the habit. He kept a watch on me and made sure I did as I was told, and that I made enough.”
Luckily Kalpana was not forced into prostitution, but she knows other Asian girls, some as young as 14, are expected to become sex workers to feed their habit and bring in cash for their pimp.
In England and Wales, government figures reveal that between 2018 and 2019, the number of arrests for white suspects went down by almost three per cent, while they went up by more than three per cent for Asians and 1.3 per cent for black people.
County line gangs
What the data shows is that more Asian children are getting involved in the drugs trade, in so-called county line gangs.
Although a child is defined as anyone under 18, children under-10 cannot be arrested.
Criminal Justice statistics supplied by the government show that for children there was a 29 per cent increase in the number of Asian arrests during 2018 and 2019, from 31 to 40. This is substantially higher than for white and black children at zero and nine per cent increase year-on-year respectively.
But these figures may not be accurate because one force which did breakdown ethnicity and age revealed a surprising statistic.
Greater Manchester’s FOI data showed that for Asians aged between 11 and 17, police arrested 28 and 30 during 2018 and 2019 respectively.
That is a seven per cent year-on-year rise, and the arrest figures are almost the total figure for all of England and Wales.
The Home Office refused to explain why there was an anomaly.
Even when a child wants to leave, it may not be possible, according to a former detective superintendent from the Metropolitan Police.
Shabnam Chaudhri was an undercover cop for many years with “prolific and high-level drug dealers”. She left the force in December 2019 but did lead the gangs’ unit in Hackney, east London.
Gangs will groom children, especially girls, outside the school gates, by offering them things they do not have, such as trainers or give them pocket money. They will become messengers and couriers of guns and drugs, because the authorities will not suspect them of doing anything illicit.
But once they can travel unaccompanied, they will be sent across county lines on public transport with cash and drugs, she told Eastern Eye.
“The kids, travelling from London to Birmingham to Manchester, think that they're going to an address. Before they get there, they'll get robbed deliberately by those that have already targeted them to groom. And then they're owned by them. You now owe me £2000 pounds, because you lost my drugs, and now you're going to have to start working for me.”
She described it as “a horrible, tragic cycle to get involved in”.
“These kids don't actually realise the tragedy that they're actually walking into. They don't go into some beautiful five-star hotel, they get locked into rooms. They get to have drugs secreted into them, and they're so petrified of the threats made to their families and extended families, that's how they get involved.”
Proper data collection
But there remains a problem. The police are not investigating the data properly, according to our sources.
Lord Patel of Bradford, who pioneered research into drug use in south Asian communities, warned that without proper methodological collection and analysis the police will not know how the criminal market is growing.
“We actually can make predictions. We can assess what's happening and what's going wrong. Unless everybody's collecting the same data in the same manner, and collating it, analysing it, then I'm not sure how you run a service effectively.”
This was evidenced during our investigation. Some forces responded by saying that the “information is not recorded in an easily retrievable format. To locate, retrieve and extract the requested information requires a manual search of all records held.”
“I’m extremely concerned to see these alarming reports of women and young children being groomed to undertake county lines,” Tan Dhesi MP told Eastern Eye. “That's why I think we need to work now collectively, with the police and the authorities, to make sure that we try to stamp this out.”
The Birmingham Perry Barr MP, Khalid Mahmood, thinks the underlying reason is the cut in funding for community resources leading to a generation of bored teenagers who turn to gangs and violence.
The increase Asian children being suspended from school also adds to the problem, he said. But the MP wants the police to recruit more Asian officers to help them combat a growing problem.
“What I don't agree with is the police using informers. And part of this problem the police have is using informants to provide intelligence that is very skewed, because they will protect themselves and be negative in terms of everything else. So instead of doing that, we need police officers who understand the community, understand the language, and understand the culture and get that across.”
The shadow railways minister and Slough MP, Tan Dhesi, has asked Eastern Eye for more information about our investigation. He said he would speak to the Thames Valley chief constable about the rise in county line and organised gangs in the Asian communities.
“Enough is enough. We really need to get the police on board. I don't think there should be taboo subjects with regards to drug use, we need to tackle that head on, now, because if we do not take steps, then it will impact all of us.”
Next week, we report on what police are doing to tackle county line gangs and tell about the experiences of two former drug dealers high up in organised crime.
*We have changed the names to protect their identity.
Analysis
The government’s figures show that between 2009 and 2019, drug offences were decreasing until 2016. Then in 2017, they went up sharply. While they have been steadily going down for white offenders, the opposite has happened for black and Asian people in 2018 and 2019.
The data obtained by Eastern Eye, under the Freedom of Information Act, shows that police forces are not collecting the statistics in a unform way.
It also appears that they are not analysing the figures in a way which would spot patterns to alert them where extra resources may be needed.
Superintendent Rich Agar, the West Midlands Police lead for county lines said, “We don’t target particular parts of our community for our drug enforcement or safeguarding activity. We take action where the intelligence directs us to target drug offenders and protect vulnerable people.”
Eastern Eye could only analyse two aspects from all our responses: the actual arrests in terms of ethnic groups and the percentage change year-on-year.
Even then, because of the way the ethnic groups are labelled by different forces, we could only split them into three main groups: white, black and Asian. Wherever we could, our analysts removed any group which was not specifically south Asian.
While the data collected is of some value, lack of a uniform approach may mean the police are obvious intelligence, said Lord Patel of Bradford.
“Let's assume there's a particular ethnic family in a northern town that's dealing drugs, and there are several arrests from there. But the supplies are coming from a village in Pakistan, and that family has extended family around the Midlands, or in the south, and the drugs are coming in there as well.
“If you’re collecting that ethnic background [data], there'll be a pattern that emerges, and you could probably then intervene to ask, well, who's the main dealer here? Where's the hub of this? Otherwise, you're just dealing with isolated pots of we've got fewer arrests here and there, without understanding that higher level drug dealing market, which I believe it's come to now.”
In West Yorkshire, Greater Manchester, and Nottinghamshire, Asians topped the percentage change year-on-year. In Nottinghamshire, for example, that rise was 25 per cent.
In Derbyshire, the year-on-year arrest figures decreased for all three ethnic groups, but the lowest fall was among Asians arrested.
Greater Manchester Police, which is under special measures, promised to work with Eastern Eye to report this story.
Detective superintendent, Daniel Inglis, of GMP's department of serious and organised crime said, "Although a rise in arrests may understandably initially appear as a concern for some people, it does however highlight the proactive approach GMP is taking to combatting the supply of drugs and getting them off our streets.
"Reasons for possession of illicit substances can vary significantly, meaning that we cannot look at one set of data for the root cause."
In the West Midlands, the numbers of white people arrested went down by 1.3 per cent, while they went up by almost five per cent for black communities and nearly 13 per cent for Asians.
In Leicestershire, although more white people were arrested year-on-year, Asian arrests rose significantly during that period by 38 per cent.
Leicestershire Police have told Eastern Eye that they do engage with south Asian communities, but there will always be gaps in intelligence.
“There's intelligence gaps across every community. Trust in policing, trusting people our partner agencies we speak to, the impact of speaking to law enforcement, may be some of the reasons. But we see the issue of intelligence gaps and coverage around all of our communities as a common theme.”
Chandrakasan was selected from a group of internal candidates, MIT president Sally Kornbluth said in a statement announcing the appointment. (Photo credit: MIT)
PROF ANANTHA CHANDRAKASAN has been appointed as the new provost of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), becoming the first Indian-American to take on the role. Currently serving as MIT’s chief innovation and strategy officer and dean of engineering, Chandrakasan will assume his new position on July 1.
Chandrakasan was selected from a group of internal candidates, MIT president Sally Kornbluth said in a statement announcing the appointment. She said he brings an exceptional record of innovation and leadership to the position.
The provost is MIT’s chief academic and budget officer, responsible for overseeing the educational enterprise, faculty affairs, and strategic planning across the institute.
In a statement released by MIT, Chandrakasan said, “I am deeply honoured to take on the role of provost.” He added, “Looking ahead, I see myself as a key facilitator, enabling faculty, students, postdocs, and staff to continue making extraordinary contributions to the nation and the world.”
Navigating challenges, driving innovation
Kornbluth noted that Chandrakasan takes on the role at a time when some of MIT’s core operating assumptions are facing uncertainty, including sustained federal support and the ability to attract global talent.
“In a time of such intense pressure and potentially historic change, I am particularly grateful that we will be able to draw on Anantha’s depth and breadth of experience; his nimbleness, entrepreneurial spirit and boundless energy; his remarkable record in raising funds from outside sources for important ideas; and his profound commitment to MIT’s mission,” she said.
The Consulate General of India in New York congratulated Chandrakasan on his appointment, noting that he is the first Indian-American to hold the position. “A distinguished academic and leader, Prof Chandrakasan has remained a strong advocate of India-USA technological & R&D collaboration; has been working with various Indian government and private sector stakeholders towards this objective. We wish him all success in this important responsibility,” the Consulate said.
Kornbluth added, “In short, the job truly could not be more central to MIT’s present and future vitality.”
Role and future priorities
The provost also oversees affiliated institutes and units and leads a team of vice provosts managing arts, campus planning, faculty matters, international activities, and Open Learning.
Chandrakasan has served as the dean of MIT’s School of Engineering since 2017 and became the institute’s inaugural chief innovation and strategy officer in 2024. Before that, he led MIT’s Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) – its largest academic department – for six years.
Explaining why she selected him for the chief innovation and strategy officer role, Kornbluth said it was because of his “can-do attitude, creativity, enthusiasm, strategic insight, fluency across a wide range of subject areas, and gift for engaging industry allies and donors.”
Chandrakasan succeeds Cynthia Barnhart, who announced her decision to step down from the role in February.
As provost, Chandrakasan will focus on three key areas: assessing institutional needs and financial planning, attracting and retaining top talent, and supporting interdisciplinary research, education, and entrepreneurship, according to the MIT statement.
“Recognising that each school and other academic units operate within a unique context, I plan to engage deeply with their leaders to understand their challenges and aspirations. This will help me refine and set the priorities for the Office of the Provost,” he said.
He also plans to form a provost faculty advisory group and establish advisory groups for students and postdocs, as well as an external provost advisory council. His goal, he said, is to support continued excellence across all levels at MIT.
“There is a tremendous opportunity for MIT to be at the centre of the innovations in areas where the United States wants to lead. It’s about AI. It’s about semiconductors. It’s about quantum, biosecurity and biomanufacturing space — but not only that,” Chandrakasan said.
“We need students who can do more than just code or design or build. We really need students who understand the human perspective and human insights. This is why collaborations between STEM fields and the humanities, arts and social sciences, such as through the new MIT Human Insights Collaborative, are so important,” he added.
Chandrakasan earned his BS, MS, and PhD in electrical engineering and computer sciences from the University of California at Berkeley. After joining MIT, he directed the Microsystems Technology Laboratories (MTL) from 2006 until becoming head of EECS in 2011.
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The flight was scheduled to depart on Tuesday afternoon. (Photo: Air India)
AIR INDIA’s flight from Ahmedabad to London, operating under a new code following the June 12 crash, was cancelled on Tuesday (17) due to the unavailability of an aircraft. The airline cited airspace restrictions and precautionary checks as the cause.
The service, now listed as flight AI-159, replaced the earlier AI-171 flight which crashed shortly after take-off last Thursday (12), killing 270 people, including 29 on the ground. The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner had 242 passengers and crew on board, with only one survivor.
An Air India spokesperson denied reports of a technical issue and confirmed the cancellation was due to extended turnaround times caused by airspace restrictions. Iran’s closure of its airspace amid its war with Israel has affected flight routes to Europe.
“Flight AI-159 from Ahmedabad to Gatwick (London) has been cancelled on Tuesday due to the unavailability of the aircraft, resulting from airspace restrictions and additional precautionary checks, leading to longer than usual aircraft turnaround — not due to any technical snag as claimed,” the spokesperson said.
“We regret the inconvenience caused and have made alternative arrangements for passengers, including hotel accommodation, full refunds, or complimentary rescheduling.”
The flight was scheduled to depart at 3pm after an earlier rescheduling from 1.10pm. According to the airline’s website, the first post-crash flight under the new code took off at 4.10pm on Monday (16), after a three-hour delay, and landed in London at 9.45pm.
Airport sources confirmed that the AI-171 service was suspended following the fatal crash and resumed operations on Monday under the new code. The return flight AI-160 landed in Ahmedabad as scheduled on Tuesday afternoon.
Due to Tuesday's cancellation, Air India also cancelled the return service, AI-170, from London (Gatwick) to Amritsar.
(PTI)
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Conference at Westminster Highlights Religious Persecution in Bangladesh and Baluchistan
A high-profile conference on religious freedom in Bangladesh and Baluchistan was held at Portcullis House, Westminster, organised by the Dharmic Ideas & Policy Foundation (DIPF), hosted by Bob Blackman MP (Harrow East), and supported by APPG leaders on Freedom of Religion and Belief (FoRB), including Richard James Shannon MP and Julie Jones on 9 June 2025.
Chairing the conference, Mr Blackman condemned the ongoing persecution of minorities in both regions, describing the situation as dire and deteriorating.
The keynote speaker, Mr Tathagata Roy—former Governor of Meghalaya and Tripura and author of My People Uprooted—outlined the historical roots of the crisis, tracing anti-Hindu violence from the 1943 Bengal famine and Noakhali riots through the genocides of 1950, 1962, and 1971. He highlighted the dramatic decline of Bangladesh’s Hindu population from 29% in 1947 to just 8% today, labelling the ongoing violence and displacement a "Hindu Holocaust".
Testimonies from Bangladeshi minorities Samir Das and his daughter Sudipta Das, as well as a lawyer recently arrived from Bangladesh, provided first-hand accounts of abductions, rape, and intimidation. All speakers pointed to the worsening conditions since the 2024 regime change.
Conference at Westminster Highlights Religious Persecution in Bangladesh and Baluchistan
Investigative journalist Francesca Marino, author of Baluchistan: Bruised, Battered and Bloodied, detailed Pakistan’s systemic oppression of the Baluchi people, including enforced disappearances, torture, and the use of rape as a weapon of control.
Dr Gautam Sen, formerly of the London School of Economics, concluded the session by underlining the civilisational assault on traditional cultures in both regions and the gendered violence used to dismantle them.
The conference closed with urgent policy recommendations:
UK and allied democracies to apply diplomatic pressure and sanctions on Pakistan and Bangladesh for human rights violations.
Support for Baluchi self-determination.
Economic and hydrological leverage by India, and implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) to aid displaced minorities.
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Protesters hold up placards during a march through central London on June 17, 2023, to call for decriminalisation of abortion. (Photo: Getty Images)
MPs are expected to vote on Tuesday on a proposed change to abortion laws in England and Wales that would prevent women from being prosecuted for ending their own pregnancies.
Under current law, women can face criminal charges for terminating a pregnancy beyond 24 weeks or without the approval of two doctors. The law still carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
Recent court cases have drawn public attention to the issue. In one case, a woman was acquitted by a jury. In another, a woman was released from prison after an appeal.
Labour MP proposes amendment
Labour MP Tonia Antoniazzi has put forward an amendment to change the law. Her proposal seeks to ensure that no woman would be committing a criminal offence by ending her own pregnancy at any stage.
"Women are currently being arrested from hospital bed to police cell and facing criminal investigations on suspicion of ending their own pregnancy," Antoniazzi told AFP.
"My amendment would put a stop to this," she said, calling it "the right amendment at the right time".
Current law and its limits
Abortion remains a criminal offence under the Offences Against the Person Act, a law dating back to 1861. The Abortion Act 1967 allows terminations under certain conditions, including up to 23 weeks and six days if done by an authorised provider.
Abortions beyond that limit are allowed only in limited situations, such as if the mother's life is at risk or the baby is likely to be born with a serious disability.
A temporary update during the Covid-19 pandemic allowed women to take abortion pills at home for up to 10 weeks into a pregnancy.
In May, Nicola Packer was acquitted after taking prescribed abortion medicine when she was around 26 weeks pregnant. Her case followed a four-year police investigation. Packer told jurors she did not realise how far along her pregnancy was.
"It was horrendous giving evidence, absolutely awful," she told The Guardian last month.
Opposition to the proposal
The Society for the Protection of Unborn Children has criticised the amendment, calling it "the greatest threat to unborn babies in decades".
What the amendment would change
Antoniazzi's amendment does not seek to alter existing regulations around abortion services or time limits. It also does not change the law for anyone assisting a woman with an abortion outside legal provisions, such as medical practitioners, who would still face prosecution.
Around 50 organisations, including abortion providers, medical colleges and women's rights groups, have expressed support for the amendment.
They have pointed out that six women have appeared in court in England in the last three years, charged with ending or attempting to end their own pregnancies outside abortion law.
Carla Foster was jailed in 2023 after obtaining abortion tablets when she was 32 to 34 weeks pregnant. Her sentence was later suspended by the Court of Appeal.
Support from MPs across parties
Some 140 MPs in the 650-member parliament have publicly supported the proposed change.
It "has widespread support from MPs across the political spectrum and I am optimistic the Commons will support it," said Antoniazzi.
The vote will be a free vote, allowing MPs to vote based on personal views rather than party instructions.
Abortion was decriminalised in Northern Ireland in 2019. Scotland is currently reviewing its abortion laws.
(With inputs from agencies)
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The spike in temperature is due to a period of high pressure currently centred over the UK
Britons are set to enjoy a burst of summer sunshine as forecasters predict a heatwave over the weekend, with temperatures expected to rise higher than those in parts of southern Europe. The Met Office anticipates that the UK could experience its hottest days of the year so far, with the south-east likely to be the warmest region.
Temperatures to reach 32°C in parts of the UK
According to the latest weather forecast heatwave predictions, temperatures could peak at 32°C on Saturday, 21 June, and Sunday, 22 June in areas including London and Kent. These highs would surpass conditions in traditional holiday destinations such as Portugal and southern France.
Elsewhere, cities such as Manchester and Newcastle are expected to see temperatures in the high twenties, while Cardiff and Birmingham may also see weather reaching into the upper 20s. The spike in temperature is due to a period of high pressure currently centred over the UK, drawing in warm air from the south.
What qualifies as a heatwave in the UK?
The Met Office defines a heatwave as a period of at least three consecutive days where daily maximum temperatures meet or exceed a particular threshold. This threshold varies by region, ranging from 25°C in parts of the north and west to 28°C in London and the Home Counties.
Deputy Chief Meteorologist Tony Wisson explained: “By the beginning of the weekend, we could very well be meeting heatwave thresholds in places. While the warmest temperatures are likely across London and the east of England, by Saturday heatwave thresholds could be reached across much of the Midlands, low-lying areas bordering the Peak District and even parts of east Wales.”
How long will the warm spell last?
The hot weather is expected to peak over the weekend before gradually easing next week. According to the Met Office, high pressure is forecast to shift away from the UK, resulting in slightly cooler conditions.
While some weather models suggest that temperatures could reach the mid-30s by Monday 23 June, this is currently seen as an unlikely scenario. However, it will still remain warm across most of the UK, with London forecast to stay in the mid-20s and Glasgow expected to reach around 22°C despite some potential showers.
Outlook for Glastonbury and late June
Looking ahead to Glastonbury Festival, which begins at Worthy Farm on Tuesday 24 June, temperatures are expected to stay above average. While generally dry conditions are forecast, there is a chance of light rain on Friday 25 June. Festival-goers are advised to check updates regularly as the weather forecast heatwave shifts.
Heatwave safety guidance and warnings
As temperatures rise, the Met Office is urging people to take precautions, especially during peak UV hours from 11 am to 3 pm. This includes staying hydrated, avoiding prolonged sun exposure, and wearing protective clothing.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has not issued any heat-health alerts so far. These alerts are typically released when high temperatures pose increased health risks, particularly to older adults, infants, and those with pre-existing health conditions.
Meanwhile, the London Fire Brigade has issued a warning over the risk of wildfires, especially in areas with dried vegetation following one of the driest springs on record. Charlie Pugsley, deputy commissioner for operational policy, prevention and protection, warned: “Extended periods of hot and dry weather can greatly increase the risk of a grass fire. When that grass is tinder dry, the spread of fire can be rapid. We have seen examples of this in London, and more recently worldwide, such as in California and South Korea.”
What to expect next
Although the current weather forecast heatwave may subside slightly after the weekend, the summer outlook remains promising. Forecasters advise staying up to date with official bulletins from the Met Office and UKHSA, especially if travelling or attending outdoor events.