AFTER spending most of his evenings and weekends since August speaking to firefighters across Britain, Steve Wright is marking his first full week as the Fire Brigades Union’s (FBU) new general secretary.

Reflecting on more than 85 fire station visits, all conducted outside his working hours as executive council member for the Southern region and FBU national vice-president, the Oxfordshire firefighter said: “It’s been an absolute privilege to do.

“It was useful to have those conversations and the same issues were cutting through.