Andy Burnham has been warned not to overuse emergency alerts amid furious accusations that it risked making the Prime Minister look like he was “crying wolf”.
A report from the Cabinet Office has warned the mobile notifications could damage public confidence in the alert system, first introduced back in 2024.
At around 7pm on Friday, the Government issued a severe alert telling the public not to use barbecues, campfires, or fireworks to avoid sparking wildfires as soaring temperatures scorched parts of Britain.
The Prime Minister instructed Britons to “take the emergency alert seriously”, adding: “Our priority now is to keep everyone safe and prevent more fires from starting.”
It is believed convicted fraudster and First Secretary of State Louise Haigh was behind the alert being sent out to phones across the nation.
The Government claimed the decision reached the required threshold and that it was in response to a “direct” request from emergency services tasked with combating the wildfires.
However, a Cabinet Office report from 2014 issued official advice to avoid using emergency alerts for “lower-level incidents”, The Telegraph revealed.
The document says the public should only receive such notifications regarding bomb explosions and chemical spills.
The alerts would be allowed regarding extreme weather – but only weather which posed an “immediate and direct risk to life”.
It reads: “Responders agreed that the system would lose its impact if it was used too regularly.
“It was agreed, for example, that communications for incidents such as lower-level disorder would be dealt with using other channels.
“It should not be used too frequently and only for the most serious of emergencies, or recipients may become complacent.”
EMERGENCY ALERT MADNESS – READ MORE:
- Labour accused of being ‘drunk on power’ after Britons sent emergency alert
- Reform’s Danny Kruger slams ‘absolute abuse’ of emergency alert system after millions sent warnings
- Andy Burnham’s emergency alert backfires as Britons ‘opt out’ of receiving new signals
Earlier today, Reform MP Danny Kruger slammed the “absolute abuse” of the UK’s emergency alert system after millions of Britons received blaring warnings on Friday.
Speaking on GB News, he insisted that the notifications should be “reserved for genuine emergencies and immediate risk to life”.
“I was driving along a main road in my constituency; suddenly my phone is shouting at me through the car speakers. I didn’t know what was going on,” Mr Kruger began, recounting his own experience.
“Then it turns out that they were telling us not to have a barbecue.
“We can’t have the government just intruding into our lives,” the former Tory minister insisted.
He continued: “Think about all the people who are driving on motorways, but also people in cinemas and at important private family events.
“Suddenly everybody’s phones are blaring at them with a frankly trivial public safety message. I think it was a very inappropriate use of that system.”
At first, the Government contemplated sending out a targeted alert to individuals who were the worst-affected across the UK, such as the West Midlands.
In the end, the Cabinet Office opted to alert the entire nation.
Over in Wales, the notification was initially sent out in Welsh, causing widespread panic to those unable to understand the language.
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