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Dirty Business S01E03 (2026) [Full Movie] [Long Version]Full EP - Full
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00:04I'm not sure if I'm going to go in.
00:06Really?
00:07Yeah.
00:08You'll be fine.
00:09Be cold.
00:10You're drowning.
00:14Or maybe you try it for a bit.
00:15I'll go first.
00:18Looking good.
00:19Looking rough.
00:21Scaredy cat.
00:23I'm not sure.
00:24Surprise, you?
00:49No prints.
00:53Nothing taken or disturbed?
00:57No.
00:58Unfortunately, the blood sample wasn't big enough for the lab to get a full DNA read.
01:05It's disappointing.
01:08Well, I really thought there was enough for a full sample.
01:12Apparently not.
01:14What about the glove mark?
01:15Not enough resolution for them to do anything with.
01:18You know, I took photos of the house right after the break-in.
01:23And nothing was touched?
01:25No.
01:26Or they put everything back in its place, which is what you would do if you were installing a listening
01:31device.
01:31I've applied for warrants to do exactly that.
01:34You're a copper?
01:34Serious Crime Squad.
01:36Covert Surveillance Unit.
01:37Counter-corruption.
01:38I'm innocent.
01:41Well, I mean, as you know, we've done a couple of sweeps.
01:49Nothing.
01:50No, me neither.
01:53So, there's not much more we can do.
01:57Okay.
02:07No.
02:13No.
02:23No.
02:25No.
02:36Come on.
02:58Well, you've worked in surveillance, haven't you, for years, so you're telling me you can't actually see if they've got
03:05a new computer or not?
03:06No. I've done what I can to check, but you just can't tell now.
03:12You see, there's this incognito spyware runs a keylogger in the background, which means they can record every key you
03:18press, every mouse click.
03:19They can see the emails you write, your messages, your passwords, etc., everything.
03:24But they build it so you don't know it's there.
03:26What did the police say?
03:29Well, an officer came out, he took a sample of the blood, there was some blood on the handle downstairs,
03:36and he thought he could see a disposable glove mark in it, which means that whoever did it wants to
03:41make sure they're untraceable.
03:42He did think they could find a DNA result, and then nothing, nothing happens.
03:47What do you think this is, sir?
03:49Anything they can find to discredit us.
03:52Something that would look good on the cover of the Daily Mail, for example.
03:56I mean, I can't think of anything that, you know, I mean, I'm...
03:59Well, you know what it is.
04:01What's that?
04:03It's the Free Jazz.
04:05If that gets out, we're fucked.
04:06Oh, fuck off.
04:08But who would want to discredit us, sir?
04:10I don't know.
04:11Could be a burglar who just got scared and legged it.
04:14Yeah, well, or he could have just seen Jala's Hawaiian Cushions.
04:19Don't say that in front of Jala.
04:20I'm not going to do that, am I?
04:21I want to hang on to my balls.
04:24You know, the other day when this happened, the first thing I did was pick up the phone to you.
04:31Yeah, no, I did see it, yeah.
04:33You probably saw it.
04:34I hung up.
04:35Just to...
04:36Yeah, I just think that what we need now is we need a whistleblower.
04:43And we need someone from inside the agency.
04:47And high up.
04:48From the top, yeah.
04:51Eileen said that we must be making a difference.
04:53Did she?
04:54Yeah, she did.
04:55So, come on, let's...
04:57That's the point, isn't it?
04:58Yeah, we are.
04:58There's no point doing this unless we make a difference.
05:00No, let's keep going.
05:01Let's keep going and let's find that fucking whistleblower.
05:04Right.
05:06June 2019.
05:07Sir James Bevan Environment Agency.
05:10Dear Sir James, I'm writing to your office as I'm sure you will know where to direct the question.
05:14October 2019.
05:16Dear Sir James, I wrote to you to raise concerns about a serious integrity issue involving the agency.
05:23Dear Sir James, 34 days have now passed since I sent you evidence.
05:27I've given up expecting a reply from you.
05:31Dear Ashley, I am in the receipt of your email to Sir James.
05:41Would you mind coming to our office?
05:43And would the 19th suit?
05:55Is Sir James not coming?
05:57I'm afraid not.
05:58No, Sir James wouldn't routinely attend meetings at this kind of level.
06:02I'd hoped he'd be here.
06:04He's time, Paul.
06:06He's aware of your work.
06:07Well, we're trying to find out what you're going to do about the illegal sewage overflow at Boughton.
06:14The combined storm overflow at Boughton has shown no detectable effects on the water quality.
06:21The water quality is stable and not deteriorating.
06:24I mean, our data shows very clearly that we have the best quality water since the Industrial Revolution.
06:31The water's turned brown.
06:32Yeah.
06:33It's turned so brown that when it joins the Thames at Newbridge, it makes the Thames look like a Swiss
06:38mountain stream.
06:40The water is brown in places, but that's a natural phenomenon.
06:45It's caused by a geological fault.
06:46A geological fault?
06:48Yeah.
06:49Yeah.
06:49Sorry, a geological fault is millions of years old.
06:53We remember when the water was clear.
06:55No one remembers the good old days before the geological fault.
06:58In the last 12 months since we installed sensors, there's been no evidence of pollution.
07:03Well, that's because you've installed the monitors upstream from the sewage pipes.
07:06Now, is that incompetence or an attempt to cover up a scandal?
07:10No.
07:10No.
07:10The agency would never position a monitor to achieve a particular reading.
07:14We are working extremely hard to transform the environment.
07:16We've improved and protected something like, I think it's 15,000 kilometers of river.
07:21It's like, but you've had 92 complaints from the general public about sewage pollution, and that's just the wind rush.
07:29I've actually got the breakdown here.
07:32Yeah, yeah.
07:35In 36 of those cases, there was no offense, and in 39, there was insufficient evidence, and in 6, we
07:45were unable to identify the offender.
07:48Oh, what do you mean you couldn't identify the offenders? Why can't you identify the offenders?
07:52There's seven sewage works along the wind rush. They're all run by Thames Water.
07:56I mean, you say you've got insufficient evidence, but we keep giving you the evidence.
08:00All we ever do is give you the evidence, and all we get back is it's under investigation.
08:04And then nothing, nothing, nothing ever happens.
08:09In exceptional circumstances, for example, after heavy rain, the sewage systems are allowed to overflow.
08:15No, no, no, no. You see, that's not the law. The law is that in all normal climatic conditions, including
08:22heavy rainfall, the water companies have to treat the sewage.
08:25They have to make it safe before they put it back into the river.
08:29The law is a grey area.
08:30No, no, it's not a grey area with respect. It's the law.
08:33Oh, sorry, can I? Sorry. Thames is their own data. It shows they stopped treating sewage at Northridge for more
08:45than three months.
08:46Now, they told us that their sensors had broken down, but we think they're lying.
08:54They're lying. So, well, why would they do that? Why would they lie to you?
09:12Doors are closed here.
09:18We're attempting regulators.
09:22Sorry?
09:25The regulation isn't real.
09:27The government want us to look like a regulator, but they won't let us do our job.
09:32Okay.
09:34When Cameron and Trust gutted the agency, we went from regulating the industry to doing its bidding.
09:41Do you think we could take your number?
09:43No, just keep going.
09:47This is going to be the first government in modern history that at the end of its parliamentary term has
09:53less regulation in place than there was at the beginning.
09:56We've now identified those 3,000 regulations that we're going to scrap.
10:00Let's reduce the amount and the burden of regulation strangled by rent-take.
10:04Cut back the health and safety monster.
10:06Cut guidance by 80% and we reduce farm inspections by 34,000 every year.
10:12Regulations will...
10:13None of my ministers could introduce a regulation unless they abolished one at the same time.
10:18Massively reduce the number of rules, laws and regulations that frankly treat all of you like idiots.
10:27So, really, it's about stripping out as much unnecessary regulation as possible and taking responsibility for climate change and saying,
10:37what more can we do to get us to net zero?
10:41As you know, this is a passion project for Sir James, who feels that we can bring our car usage
10:48down by 70%.
10:50Yeah.
10:53It's...
10:53Yeah.
10:53So, from next month, we're going to be taking the bold decision to cut back decisively on our car leases.
11:04Yeah.
11:05Come on.
11:06Sorry.
11:07Just like to clarify what you're going to get rid of our cars.
11:12So, it's about reducing the agency's carbon footprint.
11:16Just getting that...
11:17Yeah.
11:18Go ahead, Hannah.
11:19The cars that we drive to the inspections in.
11:23Right.
11:23Yeah.
11:24So, self-monitoring and a more desk-based regulation is really, it's really helping us move the needle on climate
11:32change.
11:35But the remaining inspections...
11:39Yeah.
11:40How do we get to those without a car?
11:43Yeah.
11:45It's a great question.
11:46It's a really great question.
11:48And we'll take that forward to the next discussion meeting.
11:51Thanks, Hannah.
11:53Yeah.
11:53Yeah, lovely.
11:53Thanks, everyone.
11:54Not easy news to break, is it?
11:56Yeah, surprise, surprise.
11:57Ebby's got something to say.
11:58I know, I know.
11:59But my car...
11:59Everyone's driving cars.
12:00We're the environment agency.
12:02Absolutely.
12:02What's wrong with the train?
12:03I'll keep mine, I think.
12:04So, yeah.
12:05Mmm, coffee.
12:06How do I get a coffee?
12:09Does anybody know what we're looking at?
12:12Anybody?
12:14Okay.
12:15Could you tell me what the reactants are?
12:17So, if you move your head even slightly, the vertical gets more intense?
12:21Yeah.
12:21And the attack's happening maybe twice a week?
12:24About that, yeah.
12:29The good news is that you don't have cancer.
12:32We actually think it's Meniere's.
12:34It's a disease of the inner ear.
12:36The main symptom is acute vertigo episodes, vomiting, tinnitus.
12:43It's a pretty neat fit with your presentation.
12:48They were dumping sewage in the water the last time before I got sick.
12:54Right.
12:55You know that from the surface against sewage app?
12:58Okay.
13:01Might that be?
13:02The causes are unclear.
13:04It's post-viral.
13:05This often starts with an ear infection.
13:07You know, they're common in surfers.
13:08Yeah.
13:09Every surfer I know.
13:13This is a chronic condition.
13:16I'm afraid there's no cure.
13:19I can't drink.
13:31Let's now go where I go.
13:35Then I'm going.
13:39So we've traveled to the police station.
13:39Just let me leave the table?
13:40Oh, wait.
13:40Won't you get it made for me?
13:44Sorry.
14:08So, by ending on-site inspections into categories 3 and 4,
14:13no or low-impact pollution events, and doubling down on the more serious Category 1 and 2 incidents,
14:22we think we can turn ourselves into a more effective fighting unit.
14:26Yeah. So, from today, we are ending on-site inspections for Cats 3 and 4.
14:32Any questions?
14:34Well, yeah.
14:37A Category 3 incident can be two kilometres of sewage.
14:42Mm.
14:43We want you to not inspect, to not spend time on these incidents.
14:49Except that since the water companies have been self-reporting,
14:54they almost always only report Category 3s and 4s.
14:59So, they're not actually reporting serious incidents.
15:01And so, if the water companies are only reporting Category 3s and 4s,
15:05and we're no longer allowed to investigate...
15:08So, what exactly are we going to be doing?
15:11I've told the government, you get the regulation you pay for.
15:14We no longer have the money to go on inspecting low-grade pollution events.
15:19We need you to shut down these reports as unsubstantiated or to silently pass them
15:24and to not report them as pollution incidents.
15:28Is that clear?
15:33Yeah.
15:34Thanks, everyone.
15:35You're on with your day?
15:36Yeah.
15:47We had to fuck.
15:49Fucking wanket.
15:50So, how are you going to get to fucking work?
15:52Fuck no.
15:55Horseback.
16:03What time did he call you?
16:05I passed ten last night.
16:08He said he couldn't miss it.
16:20Oh, my God.
16:21Look at him.
16:26Come on, get some shots and we'll call the agency on the way back.
16:50Come on, get some shots and we'll call the agency on the way back.
17:01Come on, get some shots and we'll call the agency on the way back.
17:03Come on, get some shots and we'll call the agency on the way back.
17:05Come on, get some shots and we'll call the agency on the way back.
17:10Come on, get some shots and we'll call the agency on the way back.
17:11Come on, get some shots and we'll call the agency on the way back.
17:12Come on, get some shots and we'll call the agency on the way back.
17:14Come on, get some shots and we'll call the agency on the way back.
17:15Come on, get some shots and we'll call the agency on the way back.
17:17Come on, get some shots and we'll call the agency on the way back.
17:18Come on, get some shots and we'll call the agency on the way back.
17:22Come on, get some shots and we'll call the agency on the way back.
17:51Debbie, are you driving into work tomorrow?
17:54Oh yeah, obviously, how else would I get in?
17:56Well, can I borrow your car at lunchtime?
18:00What for?
18:02Someone keeps calling up and complaining about the same incident.
18:06It's near the bridge at Hawkrise, so I'm gonna go and take a look.
18:11Okay.
18:12A bit of freelance investigation.
18:14A bit of freelance.
18:15And also, it needs to be off the books.
18:17And I need you to promise me not to tell Sophie.
18:21I can't tell Sophie.
18:22What does Sophie?
18:23We see no water, does Sophie anything.
18:35I don't know.
18:37I don't know.
18:42I don't know.
18:42I don't know.
18:43I don't know.
18:44I just want a woman.
18:44I don't know.
18:46What do you think?
18:54hi hi is that um is that justine hi justine um it's it's hannah from the environment agency
19:04listen it's about the um the pollution event at hawk rise um it came through the system
19:10at a duration of 1.34 hours and and i'm here now and it's it's still going
19:19yeah yeah i'm yeah i'm i'm here now yeah the cso's still discharging untreated sewage i mean there's
19:27there's a section of the river that is covered over with dried sewage i mean there's dead fish
19:32you can see them from the footpath i mean you're going to get more complaints you need to sort this
19:42can you prepare and cook a simple meal unaided yeah but not when i'm having an attack
19:51then i can't do anything i can't i can't move can you eat and drink unaided yeah but again
19:58not when i'm having an attack and i've been getting the attacks every few days for the past
20:04six months but if if you're not having one of your attacks can you eat and drink unaided yeah but
20:10yes or no is fine yes
20:15can you dress and undress unaided
20:20it's the same answer moving on to the mobility section of this assessment can you plan and follow
20:27a journey unaided yeah but not when i'm having an attack stand and move for 200 meters
20:37not when i'm having an attack well you know can you move around walk for 200 meters of course i
20:46can
20:46tell your total score for the daily living part of the assessment is zero points your total score
20:52for the mobility section is zero points when you're not having an attack you're able to do
20:57all the tasks i asked you about that's the thing with my condition is that sometimes you can i can
21:03do
21:03these things and other times i can't and when i can't i can't i can't i can't award you personal
21:07independence payment i don't know what to do if you need further guidance about how to appeal you can
21:13use the web chat to get some help if you cannot access the web chat you can contact the benefits
21:18appeal helpline on zero three zero zero
21:31hannah sorry sorry to scare you um do you have a second can i have a word of course yeah
21:37okay so
21:38i've just i just got off the phone to justine wright phillips at the water company yeah yeah she
21:43said she said you called her yeah i yeah yeah i did okay she said you called her from the
21:49site
21:51well i saw that it been logged on the system for the fifth time and people kept calling up
21:55complaining and nobody was doing anything about it so we don't have the revenue to be investigating
22:00category three it's not for category three sophie the river is dried over with excrement you can see
22:09it from that's that's what i wanted to talk to you about so justine says that the dispersal rate in
22:14that area is really high is it yeah she says she says there's like a strong current and a high
22:19dispersal the overflow pipe has been discharging for over 36 hours and it is still going all right
22:25that's untreated that is the water company's responsibility to report to us you know this
22:32okay and justine says that actually really the um because of the high dispersal rate that
22:37the the it should come down to a category four
22:41be a category four yes right
22:45so no impact on the environment no action needed yes
22:56oh you want me to change it on this would you could you yeah okay thanks so much thank you
23:02that's great lovely
23:12so you see how well we're doing yeah of course you're joking you're not joking you know sroyk
23:19no what's that strategic review of incident charges yeah it's like what we charge the
23:24clients for permits so we don't have clients cheryl we're an environment agency yes sorry yes we
23:31don't have clients but so james has put the prices up yeah and i'm talking like up up big time
23:39well he's charging the water companies more yep well they must surely they've gone down to the
23:44government like lobbying them going mad you're getting the charges taken down no not peep not a
23:50not a piece they're just paying it we've basically had such a high revenue spike yeah that we are on
24:00our way to becoming a client funded regulator so hold on one minute this is going a bit so you're
24:07saying
24:07that the water companies are funding the environment agency that's what you're
24:13really you see the you see the issues there you can't be serious a client funded
24:21regulator amazing isn't it how can that even be a thing
24:25it's a thing well hold on because literally the other day sir james said that you get the
24:31regulation that you pay for yeah that we haven't got the money to do the investigations that we used to
24:36do we nobody's paying for them okay that's your area isn't it i mean all i know is that we
24:43have
24:44got more cash than we've ever had before just making conversation
24:51i've got the job postman no yeah did you yeah oh yeah really good timing
25:00uh-huh because i did two pregnancy tests this morning what and yeah i'm pregnant
25:08what yeah bring that no yeah yeah i sort of just had a funny feeling and then
25:15yeah did one test two lines and then i did another test and it said two lines and i was
25:21like
25:32i'm
25:33susan davy i am the ceo of southwest water basically the wet weather events put a strain on our victorian
25:42networks and unfortunately we have a victorian sewage system which we have inherited and that means things
25:50do go wrong just say victorian sewage network 12 12 12 12 what's 12 12 of the sewage system is
26:00victorian what do they tell you that the whole of the system was victorian so that meant that
26:06the investment would be so high that it'd be impossible to to actually fix it all bollocks
26:12shall i tell you what stopped it when privatization came in they just stopped spending after the war they
26:18kept upgrading then after privatization came in they just stopped not just thames all of them
26:26six percent new plants is privatization six percent six percent is that all you know it'd be good if we
26:32could maybe come and visit one of the works i don't know about that well i'll have to see but
26:38that's
26:38honestly because i even just doing this i feel a bit nervous in london stadium that's not a proper
26:44stadium it's massive upton park now that was a proper stadium babe london stadium's too big you need
26:50fucking binoculars do you know what i mean yeah sorry pete did you want to see an edm oh yes
26:54yes that's
26:55well remembered so this is an event duration monitor now we fitted one of these on every sewage pipe in
27:03england in 2012 right the coalition government they ordered all the water companies to record how much
27:09time they spend dumping raw sewage these little units they measure how much poo goes into the river by
27:15hours management have been dragging their feet for eight years now but we're finally getting most of it
27:22now and the agency they they could publish the numbers they have to by law they're not going to
27:27like it but tough shit edm's yes uh so we are finalizing plans for the statutory publication of the edm
27:42numbers as you know there have been some technical delays but it looks like they're almost ready
27:51and uh they're going to come as a bit of a shock uh the data is going to show that
28:00the water
28:00companies discharged raw sewage uh 400 000 times in 2020 that's 1100 times a day
28:10for a total of 3.1 million hours
28:17it's a bit of a shocker can i just say that um since operator self-monitoring we've had to rely
28:24on the water companies to report back to us yeah i think that the key here is that this doesn't
28:30get
28:30framed as a failure of regulation that is that is that would be quite wrong and uh and i think
28:36managing
28:37comms on this is going to be key and we are working actively with the water companies to uh to
28:43to to
28:44bear down on the problem yeah and that's 1100 criminal offenses a day well that's actually that's
28:52debatable because that depends on the terms of the permits and the circumstances around each spill
28:57yeah and we know the legislation permits discharging after heavy rainfall
29:01and so no no it doesn't sorry hannah the law doesn't say that you can just dump sewage after
29:08heavy rain it says that in all normal climatic and seasonal circumstances the water companies have
29:14to treat the sewage not just dump it but it's not the agency's job to adjudicate legal matters i mean
29:20this is actually a matter for the courts no no no this is this is our job it's our job
29:26to enforce
29:27the law yeah that's what we're here to do can you um you did you want to no no you
29:38you finish off here
29:39sophie thank you so we've identified the problem and now we work on the problem which is reframing
29:46and owning the narrative yeah we we don't want this to get misconstrued as some sort of failure on our
29:51part because it just isn't thanks thanks so much thanks cool lovely thanks thanks so much
29:59all right by the way um so i've heard you're going to give evidence in parliament yes yes amazing yeah
30:07i think you're bad what does that mean thinking about it he's uh he's nervous no i'm not nervous he's
30:14nervous no it's not that i'm nervous i want to do it it's just it's difficult don't don't worry about
30:20yeah we're counting on you we are really counting on you and you can explain it in this scientific
30:25way you're going to come across brilliantly they're going to believe you mate well it it's it's not
30:30really as simple as that i mean the boys from ogden called me earlier right they told me that they
30:35dumped two billion liters of sewage in the thames over two days environment agency haven't got a scooby
30:42did they send you the data i've got the data can you send that to us i will send it
30:46to you
30:46we're not going to let you down it makes that please you can do this come on pete
30:52you're a legend mate come on
31:04we now have the lowest number of serious pollution incidents from water companies that we have yet
31:10recorded
31:11more water companies are now at the highest level of performance what we call four star performance
31:19i mean we now have the lowest number of serious pollution incidents from water companies that we have
31:52yet recorded
31:54I'm an environment officer at the agency.
31:56I investigate sewage pollution.
32:01When I first joined, it wasn't a job to get rich on.
32:07I could see I was making a difference.
32:12Corporations want to make money.
32:14We make sure that they don't poison the rivers doing it.
32:16We could investigate, prosecute, whatever it took.
32:22But then they told the companies that they could regulate themselves.
32:27That's a praise of self-monitoring.
32:29Exactly.
32:31Then came the Cameron cuts, then the trust cuts.
32:35They laid off investigators, slashed prosecutions.
32:39I mean, they even took our cars off of us so we couldn't visit pollution sites.
32:42So all these cuts meant you couldn't do your job properly?
32:46That's not it.
32:49In 2021, Sir James hiked the prices the water companies paid for their permits.
32:55It was called charge-funded regulation.
32:58We get 96 million from the government.
33:01We are now pulling in 411 million from charges.
33:06All these cuts, they're just a smokescreen.
33:10We're swimming in cash.
33:13I am doing this because I know that it is wrong.
33:16And it has ruined my whole working life.
33:23Good luck.
33:36Right.
33:40Fucking hell.
33:42What should we do?
33:43Well, first we read them.
33:46And then I think we should call some journalists.
33:50The Environment Agency has refused to comment on whether agency directors currently hold shares in UK water companies.
33:58The agency claimed it would break data protection laws if it disclosed the information.
34:03Environment Agency chiefs secretly held a series of private dinners with water company bosses at the Royal Automobile Club in
34:11central London.
34:11Documents released under the Freedom of Information Act showed the meetings were held to discuss how to quell public anger
34:18over sewage space.
34:19As the sewage scandal deepens, Environment Agency CEO Sir James Bevan has been called to give evidence to a parliamentary
34:26committee.
34:27Well, we need to talk about what we say in public and the responsibilities we have.
34:33You have a duty not to openly criticise or discredit the organisation in the media or on social media.
34:43Or to disclose confidential information to anyone not authorised to receive it.
34:51If your comments, inside or outside work, impact on the agency's reputation by making derogatory comments about the organisation, or
34:59your managers,
35:00or you make comments that bring the organisation into disrepute,
35:04you may be subject to disciplinary action.
35:08And in more serious cases, dismissal.
35:28I don't think I want to do this.
35:30You'll be fine.
35:32Need the toilet?
35:34I'm alright.
35:35I need a bloody toilet.
35:37Do you want a pie?
35:38What does that mean?
35:43Well, my garden is an island which the Windrush wraps around.
35:52I've watched it closely for 18 years, and I watched the water turn brown.
35:58I led a team of scientists using a machine learning analysis of two sewage treatment works run by Tent Walter.
36:07One of those works, the Environment Agency said, over 10 years, only two pollution incidents have been reported.
36:17Our machine learning analysis showed hundreds of illegal spills.
36:25More than 300 lasted 24 hours, and some longer than 10 days, and some for a month.
36:37Have you shown this evidence to the Environment Agency?
36:40Well, yeah, I've shown the evidence, like, many times.
36:44What usually happens is that they, uh, they say that, uh, they show a sign of interest, but then nothing
36:51happens.
36:54We work very closely with Professor Hammond of, uh, Windrush against sewage pollution.
37:01We have a regular and very fruitful dialogue with him.
37:05You've worked closely with Professor Hammond?
37:08Uh, he and Ashley Smith sent you at least 13 emails detailing evidence of illegal sewage dumping.
37:17He published five evidence reports documenting water company criminality, all of which were sent to you or your senior colleagues.
37:26They invited you to come and look at the river in 2019, and the following year sent you an email
37:34with the heading,
37:36Environment Agency Complicit in Lawbreaking.
37:44They never heard back.
37:46You never once replied in five years.
37:51How did you manage to work so closely with Professor Hammond when you never once spoke to him?
37:55At the Thames Water Modern Treatment Works, there was a spill of 240 Olympic swimming pools of sewage in a
38:07single day.
38:08The existing monitoring failed to pick that up.
38:11Now, why was that?
38:13There will always be times when, uh, something happens.
38:17Usually, accidentally.
38:19But if we find that a water company has breached its permit, we will take appropriate action.
38:26Does appropriate action include prosecuting water company executives?
38:30Prosecution is a very high bar, but, uh, where we think that's appropriate,
38:36we wouldn't hesitate.
38:38Did you prosecute in this case?
38:40No.
38:42Have you ever prosecuted any water company executives?
38:45No, but if we thought the evidence warranted it, we wouldn't hesitate.
38:53Last year, you told this committee that you became aware of sewage dumping in May 2021.
38:58Yes.
38:59But three weeks after that, you told the committee that the water companies were improving,
39:03and that more of them were getting four out of four stars.
39:08Why were you telling the committee that the water companies were doing a four-star job?
39:15Well, you've quoted everything I said.
39:20I think I stand by everything I said.
39:23I think you'll find them mutually consistent.
39:28The agency's job is to make sure the water companies obey the criminal law, but it doesn't do it,
39:35and the water companies do whatever they want.
39:38The alleged crimes of their directors are never prosecuted.
39:43They've built criminality into their business models because pollution is highly profitable
39:49and repeat offending has no consequences.
39:53Therefore, in the light of the remarkable absence of any counter-corruption measures,
39:58we demand an investigation into the environment agency.
40:04The key test for me on regulation...
40:07Less regulation.
40:08Is it something that enables the builders, not the blockers?
40:11Cut guidance by 80%.
40:13We've also got to look at regulation.
40:15Regulations will go...
40:17And where it is needlessly holding back the investment...
40:19Reduce the amount and the burden of regulation...
40:22Rip up the bureaucracy that blocks investment.
40:25Northumbria and Mortar recorded 30.1 spills per overflow over the course of 2023.
40:30280,000 hours and change in total.
40:35The chief executive, Heidi Mottram, received a bonus of £234,000 that year.
40:43Why did you take for all tickets from the parent company?
40:48Well, I didn't.
40:49OK.
40:50C.K. Hutchins Holdings owns 75% of Chung Kong Infrastructure Holdings, the owner of Northumbria
40:55and Water.
40:56And you declared £2,000 in football tickets and hospitality.
40:59Well, on that occasion, there was nobody from a water company that was involved in offering
41:05those tickets.
41:05There was nobody from a water company at that event.
41:08Well, I wouldn't have known that.
41:10They weren't present.
41:11You should have known that.
41:11You said that these sort of people should potentially be in the dock if they have been found to
41:16break the rules.
41:17You took £2,000 in tickets and hospitality for a football match from bosses linked to
41:22that company that polluted that water.
41:25Why should people in Northumbria think that you're fit for your job?
41:28Well, I certainly wouldn't have known that.
41:29And judge me by what I do.
41:29Why not?
41:30Judge me by what I do.
41:31No, no, that is what you did.
41:45Environment Minister Steve Reid is pursuing legal action against a group of anglers trying
41:50to restore the ecosystem of their local river on the grounds that cleaning up individual
41:55rivers is administratively unworkable.
41:59Concerns have been raised about the number of leading labour figures with links to lobbying
42:03firms working for water companies.
42:05Among the invited guests at the government's international investment summit was Macquarie Bank.
42:10Described as the vampire kangaroo by critics, Macquarie presided over the near collapse of
42:16Thames water, leaving it £10 billion in debt after having illegally dumped billions of
42:22litres of raw sewage.
42:39Reuben?
42:47I know I can't be left alone with her.
42:54Privatised water is a better deal than nationalised water.
42:59That the water privatisation, I believe, will go very successfully indeed.
43:04That will go very successfully indeed.
43:07And perhaps therefore we have better wait and see so that we can contemplate in the light
43:11of the fact.
43:13How does it come to this?
43:16How did it happen that England is the only place in the whole world whose water system
43:25is wholly privatised?
43:29That our seas and our rivers are full of shite?
43:35I just feel like we're trying to bring down England's biggest organised crime syndicate.
43:43I mean, they're not the mafia, these water companies.
43:47They're not a drugs cartel, but they do dump sewage a thousand times a day.
43:53And almost all of those are illegal.
43:55And the cash they've accumulated, £145 billion since privatisation.
44:04And they've got that because they seem to have built criminality into their business models.
44:11So they are like an organised crime syndicate.
44:16And the CEOs and the owners are like crime bosses.
44:21I mean, they don't murder people, obviously.
44:24They're not assassins.
44:28But me and Peter are sitting here waiting for these crime lords to put things right.
44:36And if we leave them to their own devices, they never will.
44:45We've put the things that we own and care about together, we've put them into the hands of financial speculators,
44:54whose job it is, is just to make money.
44:58We need to put the people who care in charge.
45:11That's it.
45:40If we leave them to the people who care for.
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