Crowds descended on Britain’s beaches towards the latter half of this week, with Friday tipped as the hottest day of the year. All seafront car parks in Bournemouth, Dorset, were sold out by 11.30am, reported The Telegraph, while the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) issued a level three heat-health alert for London, the east of England and the south-east.
- SEE MORE What is the hottest UK temperature on record?
- SEE MORE The surprising truth about sunscreen
The health alert is in place from midnight on Friday, 17 June, until midnight on Sunday, 19 June, with the UKHSA urging the public to “keep checking” on older people, as well as those with heart or lung conditions.
Analysis of the Met Office’s temperature records has also found that since 1884, all of the UK’s ten hottest years have occurred since 2002 – while the most recent of the top ten coldest was almost 60 years ago, in 1963.
With attention turned to the warm weather, a report from Which?, the consumer watchdog, found that mineral-based suncreams, which often sit on the expensive end of the price spectrum, are less effective than cheaper chemical-based high street brands.
Which? tested five mineral SPF30 sunscreens and found that none offered the level of protection it claimed, while cheaper brands were found to match their sun-protection claims. But Natalie Hitchins, head of home products and services at Which?, said: “Our advice is don’t waste your money or take any unnecessary risks – stick to a tried and tested and reliable suncream.”
While members of the public contend with sweltering temperatures, relationships between officials at No. 10 are continuing to cool. On Wednesday, Boris Johnson’s ethics adviser, Lord Geidt, dramatically quit, saying he was put in an “impossible and odious position”.
The ethics tsar had threatened to quit last month after concluding that there were “legitimate” questions about whether the PM broke the ministerial code over the lockdown parties scandal in Downing Street – a claim that Johnson denies.
A spokesman for Johnson said the prime minister would “carefully consider” whether to hire a new ethics adviser, with reports suggesting that Johnson might do away with the position altogether.
To find out how closely you’ve been paying attention to the latest developments in the news and other global events, put your knowledge to the test with our Quiz of The Week.
