Former Leeds City Council leader Baroness Blake named fire minister as wildfires rage
She was leader of the council between 2015 and 2021
Amid the wildfires raging across the country, the Government appointed Baroness Blake of Leeds as fire minister.
The Leader of Leeds City Council between 2015 and 2021, the Labour peer now takes up a role in the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.
She will have specific responsibility for helping the government coordinate its response to wildfires across the country, including one which has destroyed homes in the West Midlands.
The Prime Minister earlier said 100 military personnel had been deployed to a blaze in South Wales to offer “critically needed” support.
Andy Burnham told broadcasters: “I’ve never seen scenes like this in Britain, where you just see a whole house gutted, smouldering.”
He said “Britain is a tinderbox right now” with “37 fires smouldering around the country”.