00:00What absolutely needs more powers and that's what my colleague Steve Reed has
00:04set out and we need to have criminal liability for individuals in water
00:08companies that deliberately pollute our rivers and seas. Since privatisation
00:12only three individuals have been prosecuted and despite the state of the
00:17industry at the moment so we've been really really clear the water industry
00:21is being reformed, water companies will be held liable and it's right that
00:25they've been fined properly today and are going to repay consumers. For too
00:29long the last Tory government sat back, they weakened regulation and they
00:33allowed the failing water industry to pay out dividends and bonuses whilst
00:38they weren't investing in the infrastructure that was needed. That led
00:41to raw sewage being pumped into our lakes and rivers. That's why one of the
00:46first things my colleague the Secretary of State for the Environment did when we
00:49entered office was to bring the water companies together and put them into
00:52special measures, agree to the reform.
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