CAMPAIGNERS gathered outside Parliament over the weekend, urging Andy Burnham not to approve the Rosebank oil field, amid reports he could back new North Sea drilling as he takes office as prime minister on Monday.

The action follows Britain’s third heatwave in as many months and comes within a week of official statistics reporting over 2,700 heat-related deaths across England and Wales in May and June. 

These deaths would not have happened without the fossil-fuel-driven climate crisis, campaigners said at the protest on Saturday.

Fossil Free London director Robin Wells said: “Our world’s on fire, from Walthamstow to Canada; but of course those selling the oil are fighting hard to pour more fuel on the wreckage. 

“The Prime Minister should not be warmly welcoming those who are causing this devastation as the first act of a new government. 

“Andy Burnham has a choice: tank the safety and security of the UK public by backing Big Oil billionaires, or stand up for human health and good green jobs.”

Scores of Labour MPs, trade unions and Green Party leader Zack Polanski have called for Mr Burnham to rule out new drilling. 

The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) warned that worsening climate impacts are putting firefighters’ lives at risk.

Merseyside FBU chair Lee Hunter said: “We’ve lost around 12,000 firefighter jobs over the last 16 years, yet we’re responding to more extreme weather than ever before. 

“This month, we’ve seen wildfires across Wales and Greater Manchester, while the London Fire Brigade was warned of an extreme wildfire risk. Now, Scotland is burning. 

“We simply aren’t prepared for what’s coming. That’s why our union is saying no to Rosebank.”

Uplift executive director Tessa Khan said oil and gas jobs “have more than halved over the past decade, despite hundreds of new licences and new fields,” adding: “When parts of the country are literally on fire, including in his back yard, approving a project the size of Rosebank would be completely reckless.”

Scottish Greens co-leader Gillian Mackay said: “There can be no more mixed messages or attempts to have it both ways when it comes to the climate crisis. 

“We need a Prime Minister who will invest in our communities, deliver a genuinely just transition and tackle the climate crisis by making the super-wealthy pay their fair share.”