The Mayor of London was quizzed by Liberal Democrat London Assembly Members on the Capital’s ability to cope with extreme weather over the summer, including the ability of the emergency services to deal with the increased levels of demand a warming climate is having on the city.

Gareth Roberts, the Liberal Democrat AM for South West London questioned the Mayor specifically on water safety in the light of the two year anniversary of the tragic death of Brain Sasu, who drowned after entering the Thames at Tagg’s Island in Richmond during a heatwave two years ago this week.

During the questioning Assembly Member Roberts asked the Mayor to use his office to promote and amplify messaging around water safety and to fund the rollout of ‘rescues polls’ across London if trials are successful. The Mayor agreed to both requests and the work with Assembly Member Roberts on any further thoughts he may have to increase river safety in London.

Liberal Democrat London Wide Assembly Member Hina Bokhari subsequently questioned the Mayor on the readiness of the London Fire Brigade to deal with increased wildfires following the LFB’s ‘busiest day since the Blitz’ when wildfires tore through the outskirts of London in the summer of 2022.

Sadiq Khan admitted that although measures had been put in place since 2022, the scale of the threat posed by the increased likelihood of wildfires meant more work was required to fully prepare the Capital.

The Mayor was also pushed to lobby the new Labour Government for increased funding for specialist wildfire fighting equipment and training, alongside a national wildfire strategy.

Commenting Assembly Member Gareth Roberts said:

“My thoughts today are with the family and friends of Brian Sasu on the two-year anniversary of his tragic death.

“We must ensure we are all doing everything we can to promote safety on the River Thames and to ensure no one else looses their life.

“With heatwaves becoming more and more common due to our changing climate, we must ensure young people, and indeed all people, know the risks of entering open water and that the appropriate lifesaving equipment and knowledge is available along the course of London’s rivers.

“I am pleased that the Mayor has agreed to work co-operatively with me on this issue and I look forward to discussing it further with him.”

Adding her comments, Assembly Member Bokhari said:

“The threat of wildfires is only going to continue to grow and grow in London, and those areas on the outskirts of London where urban meets rural are at particular risk. It was welcoming to see the Mayor give some frank and honest answers today about how London is still not fully prepared for the extent of the challenges we face.

“We now need to see the Mayor lobby this new Labour Government for increased funding for the equipment and training the LFB need to tackle this challenge.

“We also need to see the new Government implement a national Wildfire Strategy, there have been four national fire and rescue framework documents, but wildfires are not referred to directly in any of these documents.

“This needs to change and the Liberal Democrats will ensure the pressure is kept on both the Mayor and Government to ensure our Capital is prepared to deal with the consequences of climate change.”