UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has weighed into the National Park name change row by saying he will continue to call it by its English name, the Brecon Beacons.

Park bosses renamed it Bannau Brycheiniog last month - meaning the peaks of Brychan’s kingdom (a ruler in the 5th/6th century who is thought to have fathered up to 60 children).

They also ditched its brazier logo, saying it “does not fit with the ethos of the Park”.

But speaking to BBC Wales while attending the Welsh Conservatives conference in Newport at the weekend, the PM said “most people” would ignore the change and continue to use Brecon Beacons.

Mr Sunak said: “[I am] a big supporter of the Welsh language and Welsh culture, but when it comes to the Brecon Beacons, the first thing to say is this is an internationally renowned place to visit, attracts visitors from all around the world.

"It's something we're all really proud of across the UK.

"I'm going to keep calling it the Brecon Beacons, and I would imagine most people will do that too."

Announcing the name change last month, Park authority chief executive Catherine Mealing-Jones said: “Given that we’re trying to provide leadership on decarbonisation, a giant burning brazier is not a good look.

“Our park is shaped by Welsh people, Welsh culture, and as we looked into it we realised the brand we’ve got and the name we’ve got, it’s a bit of a nonsense, it doesn’t really make any sense – the translation Brecon Beacons doesn’t really mean anything in Welsh.

“We’d always had the name Bannau Brycheiniog as the Welsh translation and we just felt we needed to put that front and centre as an expression about the new way we wanted to be celebrating Welsh people, Welsh culture, Welsh food, Welsh farming – all of the things that need to come with us as we go through this change in the management plan.”

But critics have blasted the move as an ‘eco woke crusade’, saying local people weren’t even consulted.

Monmouth MP and Secretary of State for Wales David Davies, a Welsh speaker, said: “As an MP with parts of the Brecon Beacons National Park in the constituency, I had no prior notice of the name change and it has caught a lot of people off guard.

“What concerns me is the fact there was no consultation and people who live and work in the national park were not given the opportunity to voice their opinion. It would be somewhat alarming if this was an entirely executive decision.

“The Brecon Beacons has a long-standing international identity and that is the name it will always be known by to so many around the world.

“I do question the cost and feel this is money that could have been used to encourage tourism in a better way.

“As a bilingual country, I fail to understand why the Welsh name cannot be used alongside the English name.

Ex-BBC presenter John Humphreys, who comes from South Wales, was also unimpressed, labelling the name change “baffling” and “pointless”.

“This is a symbolic name change which won’t save the planet,” he stormed.

Oldie editor Harry Mount, who regularly walks in the national park, also slammed it as “a victory for woke philistines”.