Lord Austin attacked the BBC for “overdoing the weather,” and Huw Edwards responded by telling him to “give it a rest.”
The seasoned broadcaster tweeted at the Labour peer, saying that Monday night’s Tory leadership contest was not what News at Ten viewers were most concerned about—rather, it was climate change and the severe temperatures.
BBC News at 10 is a little too weather-heavy, according to Lord Austin. Before we moved on to the inconsequential and small matter of who would be in charge of the country, the first 23 minutes were spent discussing the heat.
Edwards quipped back: ‘Oh give it a rest. They’re still on 4 candidates and we’re 7 weeks from a result. Meanwhile viewers are telling us they’re FAR more exercised by climate change and the weather extremes. Go figure.’
It comes as temperatures hit an unprecedented 40.2C (104.4F) at London Heathrow Airport at 12.50pm this afternoon – causing ferocious wildfires to break out across southern England today.
Lord Austin said, “Keep going. I didn’t say it wasn’t a significant story or that it shouldn’t be the top subject on the news. I also didn’t doubt the importance of climate change.
‘I just gently wondered whether devoting 23 minutes of a bulletin that lasts less than half an hour might be ‘slightly overdoing it’.
‘What’s interesting about this, though, is how the BBC (an institution I have defended countless times in Parliament) responds to even the slightest criticism or question.’.
Gently pondered, said Edwards, “eh? I start to wonder how you can use patronizing sarcasm if someone says, “Before we got on to the minor and meaningless matter of who might end up leading the country!” Oh my Lord.
But what’s striking about this is how the BBC, an organization I have frequently supported in Parliament, reacts to even the most trivial criticism or query.
Firefighters have described the fires destroying homes and buildings in London as “total horror,” with 1,600 cries for help, the evacuation of families after at least five properties were destroyed, and two individuals being treated for smoke inhalation in hospitals.
Elsewhere in the country hundreds of fire crews are out battling raging infernos in Wales, Scotland and the rest of England as ‘tinderbox’ dry conditions in the UK caused wildfires to threaten homes, animals and people.
Fire departments in London, Hertfordshire, and Leicestershire declared major incidents after receiving tens of thousands of calls, so residents are warned not to contact unless there is an emergency since automated fire alarms won’t trigger a response.
The Met Office said that at least 34 regions of the country beat the previous national record for the UK of 38.7C today, with the new record being established by Coningsby, Lincolnshire, which reached an extraordinary 40.3C (104.54) and witnessed highs of 40.2C as well (104.4F).
Scotland also recorded its hottest day ever as temperatures climbed to 34.8C (94.64) at Charterhall and Wales might beat its new record set yesterday of 37.1C in Hawarden, Flintshire.
The extreme heat has been caused by a plume of hot air from north Africa and the Sahara and an ‘Azores High’ subtropical pressure system creeping further north than usual – which experts say is a result of climate change.
exceeded the previous record high for the UK of 38.7C (101.7F) at Cambridge in July 2019. 38.5C (101.3F) in Kent in August 2003 is in third position, while 38.1C (100.6F) yesterday in Suffolk is in fourth.
In other parts of England this afternoon, the temperature reached highs of 39.9C (103.8F) at Charlwood by lunchtime, 39.6C (103.3F) at Kew Gardens in West London, 39.3C (102.7F) at Wisley in Surrey, and 39.2C (102.6F) at both Chertsey in Surrey and Northolt in West London – all of which were higher than the all-time high for the UK set in 2019.
The UK is also being warned these temperatures could soon be the ‘new normal’ as Britain starts to see wildfires, extreme heat and pressure on the water supply which has long plagued Europe.