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Dirty Business S01E03 (2026) [Full Movie] [Recommended]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.
02:05I'm fine.
02:21So, there's not much better.
02:27It's in my mind.
02:35Come on.
02:59You've worked in surveillance, haven't you, for years, so you're telling me you can't actually see if they've got a
03:05new 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,
03:16which means they can record every key you press, every mouse click,
03:19they can see the emails you write, your messages, your passwords, et cetera, 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,
03:35and he thought he could see a disposable glove mark in it,
03:38which means that whoever did it wants to make 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?
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...
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, I hung up.
04:35Just to...
04:36Yeah, I just think that what we need now is we need...
04:41We need a whistleblower, don't we?
04:43And we need someone from inside the agency.
04:47And high up.
04:48From the top, you know.
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.
05:05June 2019, Sir 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, dear 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 and 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 poor.
06:06Yeah.
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.
06:15Yeah.
06:16The combined storm overflow at Burton has shown no detectable effects on the water quality.
06:21The water quality is stable and not deteriorating.
06:23I 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. It's caused by a geological fault.
06:46Sorry, a geological fault?
06:48Yeah.
06:49Yeah.
06:49Sorry, a geological fault is millions of years old.
06:53We remember when the water was clear. No 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, no. The 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 kilometres of river.
07:22It's right, but you've had 92 complaints from the general public about sewage pollution.
07:28And that's just the wind rush.
07:29I've actually got the breakdown here.
07:31Let's see.
07:33Yeah, yeah.
07:35In 36 of those cases, there was no offence.
07:39And in 39, there was insufficient evidence.
07:44And in 6, we were unable to identify the offender.
07:49What do you mean you couldn't identify the offenders?
07:51Why can't you identify the offenders?
07:52There's seven sewage works along the wind rush.
07:55They'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.
08:16No, no, no.
08:17You see, that's not the law.
08:18The law is that in all normal climatic conditions, including heavy 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.
08:31No, it's not a grey area, with respect.
08:33It's the law.
08:33Sorry, can I?
08:35Sorry.
08:37Thames is their own data.
08:40It shows they stopped treating sewage at Northridge for more than three months.
08:46Now, they told us that their sensors had broken down, but we think they're lying.
08:54They're lying.
08:55So why would they do that?
08:58Why would they lie to you?
09:03Okay.
09:12The door's closed here.
09:18They're pretend-king 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?
09:43Look, just keep going.
09:47This is going to be the first government in modern history that at the end of its parliamentary term
09:53has less 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.
10:17Massively reduce the number of rules, laws and regulations
10:21that frankly treat all of you by idiots.
10:27So, really, it's about stripping out as much unnecessary regulation as possible
10:33and taking responsibility for climate change
10:36and saying what more can we do to get us to net zero.
10:41As you know, this is a passion project for Sir James,
10:44who feels that we can bring our car usage down by 70%.
10:51Yeah.
10:52It's, yeah.
10:53So, from next month, we're going to be taking the bold decision
10:58to cut back decisively on our car leases.
11:05Yeah.
11:05Come on, sorry.
11:07Mm-hmm.
11:07Just, like, to clarify what...
11:09You'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.
11:24Yeah.
11:24So, self-monitoring and a more desk-based regulation
11:28is really, it's really helping us move the needle on climate change.
11:35But the remaining inspections...
11:39Well, yeah.
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, lovely.
11:53Thanks, everyone.
11:54Not easy news to break, is it?
11:56Yeah, it's a surprise.
11:57Ebby's got something to say.
11:58I know, I know.
11:58I 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.
12:05Mm, 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?
12:18So, if you move your head even slightly,
12:19the 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...
12:57The Suffers Against Sewage app.
12:59Okay.
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, every surfer I know.
13:13This is a chronic condition.
13:16I'm afraid there's no cure.
13:18What's wrong with it?
13:34You can't wait.
13:35I'm sorry.
13:38I'm sorry.
13:39I'm sorry.
13:39Should we leave the table away?
13:40Just hold his back.
13:44Just sit on the robot.
14:08So, by ending on-site inspections into categories three and four,
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 three and four.
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.
15:27Is that clear?
15:33Yeah.
15:34Yeah, thank you.
15:34Thanks, everyone.
15:35You're on with your day?
15:36Yeah.
15:47We have to fuck.
15:48Fucking wankers.
15:50How 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, look at him.
16:27Get some shots and we'll call the agency on the way back.
16:58What time did he call you?
17:18What time did he call you?
17:48What time did he call you?
17:52Oh.
17:53Are you driving into work tomorrow?
17:54Oh, yeah, obviously.
17:55How 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 Hawk Rise, so I'm going to go and take a look.
18:11Okay.
18:12A bit of freelance investigation.
18:13A 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.
18:22You can't tell Sophie.
18:23Within all the world, I can't tell Sophie anything.
18:25Okay.
18:26Okay.
18:26Okay.
18:37Okay.
18:40Okay.
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 at a duration
19:12of 1.34 hours, and, and I'm here now, and it's, it's, it's still going.
19:19Yeah, yeah, I'm, I'm, yeah, I'm, I'm here now, yeah. The CSO's still discharging untreated sewage. I mean, there's, there's
19:27a section of the river that is covered over with dried sewage.
19:31I mean, there's, there's dead fish. You can see them from the footpath. I mean, you're going to get more
19:35complaints. You need to sort this.
19:42Can you prepare and cook a simple meal unaided?
19:47Yeah, but not when I'm having an attack. Then I can't do anything. I can't, I can't move.
19:54Can you eat and drink unaided?
19:56Yeah, but, again, not when I'm having an attack. Um, and I've been getting the attacks, well, every few days
20:03for the past six months.
20:05But if, if you're not having one of your attacks, can you eat and drink unaided?
20:09Yeah, but...
20:10Yes or no is fine.
20:12Yes.
20:15Can you dress and undress unaided?
20:20It's the same answer.
20:22Moving on to the mobility section of this assessment. Can you plan and follow a journey unaided?
20:30Yeah, but not when I'm having an attack.
20:33Standard move for 200 metres.
20:37Not when I'm having an attack.
20:39Well, well, you know, can you move around, walk for 200 metres?
20:42Of course I can, but not when I'm having an attack.
20:44Okay.
20:45Thank you, Mr Santa.
20:46Your total score for the daily living part of the assessment is zero points.
20:51Your total score for the mobility section is zero points.
20:55When you're not having an attack, you're able to do all the tasks I asked you about.
20:58That's the thing with my condition is that sometimes I can do these things and other times I can't.
21:04And when I can't, I can't.
21:05I can't award you a personal independence payment.
21:08I don't know what to do.
21:09If you need further guidance about how to appeal, you can use the web chat to get some help.
21:15If you cannot access the web chat, you can contact the Benefits Appeal helpline on 0300...
21:22One, two, three...
21:31Hannah.
21:32Oh, shit.
21:32Sorry.
21:32Sorry.
21:33I didn't mean to scare you.
21:34Sorry.
21:35Do you have a second?
21:36Can I have a word?
21:36Of course.
21:37Yeah?
21:38Okay.
21:38So I've just got off the phone to Justine Wright-Phillips at the water company.
21:42Yeah?
21:43Yeah, she said you called her.
21:45Yeah, I did.
21:48Okay, she said you called her from the site.
21:51Well, I saw that it had been logged on the system for the fifth time and people kept calling
21:55up complaining and nobody was doing anything about it, so I...
21:58But we don't have the revenue to be investigating Category 3.
22:03It's not for Category 3, Sophie.
22:06The river is dried over with excrement.
22:08You can see it from...
22:09Yeah, so that's what I wanted to talk to you about.
22:11So Justine says that the dispersal rate in that area is really high.
22:16Is it?
22:17Yeah, she says there's like a strong current and a high dispersal rate of the untreated
22:20The overflow pipe has been discharging for over 36 hours and it is still going.
22:25All right, that's...
22:25It's untreated...
22:25That is the water company's responsibility to report to us.
22:29You know this.
22:32Okay?
22:32And Justine says that actually, really, because of the high dispersal rate, that it should
22:38come down to a Category 4.
22:41Be a Category 4?
22:43Yes.
22:43Right.
22:43Mm-hmm.
22:45So, no impact on the environment, no action needed?
22:50Yes.
22:52Mm-hmm.
22:56Oh, you want me to change it on this, would you?
22:58Could you?
22:59Yeah?
23:00Okay.
23:01Thanks so much.
23:02That's great.
23:03Lovely.
23:12So, you see how well we're doing?
23:14Yeah, of course.
23:14What are you joking?
23:16I'm not joking.
23:17You know SROIC?
23:19No, what's that?
23:21Strategic Review of Incident Charges.
23:23Yeah, it's like what we charge the clients for permits and that.
23:26So, we don't have clients, Cheryl.
23:28We're an environment agency.
23:29Okay, yes, sorry.
23:30Yes, we don't have clients.
23:31Yes, but Sir James has put the prices up, yeah?
23:35And I'm talking like up, up.
23:37Big time.
23:39Well, he's charging the water companies more.
23:41Yep.
23:42Well, surely they've gone down to the government, like,
23:45lobbying them, going, man, J-game, the charges are taken down.
23:48No.
23:48Not a peep.
23:49Not a peep.
23:51Sorry, they're just paying it.
23:53We've basically had such a high revenue spike, yeah,
23:57that we are on our way to becoming a client-funded regulator.
24:04Sorry, wait, hold on one minute.
24:05This is going a bit...
24:06So, you're saying that the water companies are funding the environment agency.
24:13Wow.
24:13That's what you're...
24:14What's happening?
24:15You see the issues there.
24:16You can't be serious.
24:17A client-funded regulator.
24:22Amazing, isn't it?
24:22How can that even be a thing?
24:25It's a thing.
24:26Well, hold on, because literally, the other day,
24:29Sir James said that you get the regulation that you pay for.
24:32Yeah.
24:32That we haven't got the money to do the investigations that we used to do.
24:37Nobody's paying for them.
24:38Okay.
24:38That's your area, isn't it?
24:40I mean, all I know is that we have got more cash than we've ever had before.
24:47Just making conversation.
24:51I've got the job.
24:53Hostman?
24:54Mm-hmm.
24:54No?
24:54Yeah.
24:55Did you?
24:55Yeah.
24:56Oh, it's fun.
24:57Yeah, really good timing.
25:00Uh-huh.
25:01Because I did two pregnancy tests this morning.
25:06What?
25:06And, yeah, I'm pregnant.
25:08What?
25:09Yeah, bring out.
25:11No?
25:11Yeah.
25:12Yeah.
25:13I sort of just had a funny feeling, and then, yeah, did one test, two lines,
25:19and then I did another test, and it said two lines.
25:21And so, and I was like, fuck.
25:33I'm Susan Davey.
25:35I am the CEO of Southwest Water.
25:37Basically, the wet weather events put a strain on our Victorian networks.
25:43And, unfortunately, we have a Victorian sewage system, which we have inherited, and that
25:49means things do go wrong.
25:51How do you say Victorian sewage network?
25:5312%.
25:5412?
25:5512%?
25:56What's 12%?
25:5712% of the sewage system is Victorian.
26:01What do they tell you?
26:02That the whole of the system was Victorian, so that meant that the investment would be so
26:07high that it'd be impossible to actually fix it all.
26:11Bollocks.
26:12Shall I tell you what stopped it?
26:14When privatization came in, they just stopped spending.
26:17After the war, they kept upgrading.
26:19Then after privatization came in, they just stopped.
26:23Not just Thames, all of them.
26:266% new plants is privatization.
26:296%?
26:306%.
26:31They said, oh, you know what would be good?
26:32If we could maybe come and visit one of the works?
26:35I don't know about that.
26:36Well, I'll have to see, lads, honestly, because even just doing this, I feel a bit nervous.
26:42Fucking London Stadium.
26:43That's not a proper stadium.
26:45Fucking massive.
26:46Upton Park.
26:46Now, that was a proper stadium, mate.
26:48London Stadium is too big.
26:49You need fucking binoculars.
26:50Do you know what I mean?
26:51Yeah.
26:52Sorry, Pete, did you want to see an EDM?
26:54Oh, yes.
26:54Yes, that's right.
26:55Well remembered.
26:56So this is an event duration monitor.
26:59Now, we fitted one of these on every sewage pipe in England.
27:03In 2012, the coalition government, they ordered all the water companies to record how much time they spend dumping raw
27:11sewage.
27:12These little units, they measure how much poo goes into the river by hours.
27:16Management have been dragging their feet for eight years now.
27:19But we're finally getting most of it in now.
27:22And the agency, they publish the numbers.
27:25They have to, by law.
27:26They're not going to like it, but tough shit.
27:30EDMs.
27:32Yes.
27:34So, we are finalizing plans for the statutory publication of the EDM numbers.
27:44As you know, there have been some technical delays, but it looks like they're almost ready.
27:52and they're going to come as a bit of a shock.
27:57The data's going to show that the water companies discharged raw sewage
28:03400,000 times in 2020.
28:06That's 1,100 times a day
28:10for a total of 3.1 million hours.
28:16That's a bit of a shocker.
28:18Can I just say that since operator self-monitoring,
28:23we've had to rely on the water companies to report back to us.
28:27I think that the key here is that this doesn't get framed
28:30as a failure of regulation.
28:32That would be quite wrong,
28:35and I think managing comms on this is going to be key.
28:38And we are working actively with the water companies
28:42to bear down on the problem.
28:46But that's 1,100 criminal offences a day.
28:50Well, that's actually debatable
28:52because that depends on the terms of the permit
28:54and the circumstances around each spill.
28:57Yeah, and we know the legislation permits discharging after heavy rainfall.
29:02No, it doesn't.
29:04Sorry, Hannah.
29:05The law doesn't say that you can just dump sewage after heavy rain.
29:09It says that in all normal, climatic and seasonal circumstances,
29:13the water companies have to treat the sewage,
29:16not just dump it.
29:17It's not the agency's job to adjudicate legal matters.
29:20I mean, this is actually a matter for the courts.
29:23No, no, no.
29:24This is our job.
29:25It's our job to enforce the law.
29:28Yeah.
29:29That's what we're here to do.
29:35Can you...
29:36Did you want to...
29:37No, no, you finish off here, Sophie.
29:43So we've identified the problem,
29:44and now we work on the problem,
29:45which is reframing and owning the narrative.
29:48Yeah, we don't want this to get misconstrued
29:50as some sort of failure on our part,
29:51because it just isn't.
29:52Thanks.
29:53Thanks so much.
29:54Thanks.
29:56Cool.
29:57Lovely.
29:58Thanks, guys.
29:58Thanks so much.
29:59By the way,
30:03so I've heard you're going to give evidence in Parliament.
30:05Yes.
30:06Yes.
30:06Amazing.
30:07Yeah, I think you're bad.
30:09What does that mean, thinking about it?
30:11He's nervous.
30:13No, I'm not nervous.
30:14He's nervous.
30:15No, it's not that I'm nervous.
30:16I want to do it.
30:17It's just...
30:19Don't worry about it.
30:21We're counting on you.
30:22We are really counting on you.
30:23And you can explain it in this scientific way.
30:25You're going to come across brilliantly.
30:26They're going to believe you, mate.
30:28Well, it...
30:30It's not really as simple as that.
30:31I mean...
30:32The boys from Ogden called me earlier, right?
30:34Yeah.
30:34They told me that they dumped
30:35two billion litres of sewage
30:37in the Thames
30:38over two days.
30:40Environment agency
30:40haven't got a Scooby.
30:42Did they send you the data?
30:43I've got the data, yeah.
30:44All right.
30:44Can you send that to us?
30:45I will send it to you.
30:46We're not going to let you down.
30:48Makes sense.
30:48Please, you can do this.
30:50Come on, Pete.
30:51That's all right, no.
30:52You're a legend, mate.
30:53Come on.
31:03We now have the lowest number
31:06of serious pollution incidents
31:08from water companies
31:09that we have yet recorded.
31:11More water companies
31:13are now at the highest level
31:15of performance,
31:16what we call
31:17four-star performance.
31:19I mean, we now have
31:20the lowest number
31:21of serious pollution incidents
31:23from water companies
31:24that we have yet recorded.
31:54I'm an environment officer.
31:55at the agency.
31:56I investigate sewage pollution.
32:01When I first joined,
32:04it wasn't a job
32:05to get rich on.
32:07I could see
32:08I was making a difference.
32:12Corporations want to make money.
32:14We make sure
32:14that they don't poison
32:15the rivers doing it.
32:16We could investigate,
32:19prosecute,
32:19whatever it took.
32:22But then they told
32:23the companies
32:23that they could
32:25regulate themselves.
32:27That's
32:28upraise the self-monitoring.
32:29Exactly.
32:31Then came
32:32the Cameron cuts,
32:33then the trust cuts.
32:35They laid off
32:36investigators,
32:38slashed prosecutions.
32:39I mean,
32:39they even took our cars
32:40off of us
32:40so we couldn't visit
32:41pollution sites.
32:42So all these cuts
32:43meant you couldn't
32:44do your job properly?
32:45That's not it.
32:49In 2021,
32:51Sir James
32:51hiked the prices
32:52the water companies
32:53paid for their permits.
32:55It was called
32:56charge-funded regulation.
32:58We get 96 million
33:00from the government.
33:01We are now
33:02pulling in
33:04411 million
33:05from charges.
33:07All these cuts,
33:08they're just a smokescreen.
33:10We're swimming
33:10in cash.
33:13I am doing this
33:15because I know
33:15that it is wrong
33:16and it has ruined
33:17my whole working life.
33:23Good luck.
33:37Right.
33:40Fucking hell.
33:42What should we do?
33:43Well, first we read them
33:46and then I think
33:47we should call
33:47some journalists.
33:50The Environment Agency
33:52has refused to comment
33:53on whether agency directors
33:55currently hold shares
33:57in UK water companies.
33:58The agency claimed
34:00it would break
34:01data protection laws
34:02if it disclosed
34:03the information.
34:03Environment Agency chiefs
34:05secretly held
34:06a series of private dinners
34:07with water company bosses
34:08at the Royal Automobile Club
34:10in central London.
34:11Documents released
34:12under the Freedom of Information Act
34:14showed the meetings
34:15were held
34:16to discuss
34:17how to quell
34:17public anger
34:18over sewage space.
34:19As the sewage scandal
34:20deepens,
34:21Environment Agency
34:22CEO
34:23Sir James Bevan
34:24has been called
34:25to give evidence
34:25to a parliamentary committee.
34:27Well, we need to talk
34:28about what we say
34:29in public
34:29and the responsibilities
34:31we have.
34:33You have a duty
34:34not to openly
34:36criticise
34:37or discredit
34:37the organisation
34:38in the media
34:40or on social media
34:43or to disclose
34:44confidential information
34:46to anyone
34:47not authorised
34:48to receive it.
34:51If your comments
34:52inside or outside work
34:53impact on the agency's reputation
34:55by making derogatory comments
34:57about the organisation
34:58or your managers
35:00or you make comments
35:01that bring the organisation
35:03into disrepute
35:04you may be subject
35:05to disciplinary action
35:08and in more serious cases
35:11dismissal.
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?
35:42Well, um,
35:44my garden
35:45is
35:46an island
35:48which
35:48the Windrush
35:49wraps around.
35:52I've watched it closely
35:53for 18 years
35:55and
35:55I watched the water
35:57turn brown.
35:58I led a team
35:59of scientists
36:00using
36:01a machine learning
36:02analysis
36:03of two
36:04sewage treatment works
36:05run by
36:06Tent Walter.
36:07One of those works
36:09the Environment Agency
36:10said
36:11over 10 years
36:12only two
36:14pollution incidents
36:15have been reported.
36:16Our
36:17machine learning
36:18analysis
36:21showed hundreds
36:22of illegal spills
36:24more than
36:26300
36:27lasted
36:2724 hours
36:29and some
36:30longer than
36:3210 days
36:34and some
36:35for a month.
36:36Have you shown
36:38this evidence
36:38to the Environment Agency?
36:39Well, we are.
36:41I've shown the evidence
36:42many times.
36:44What usually happens
36:45is that they
36:47say that
36:48they show
36:49a sign of interest
36:50but then
36:50nothing happens.
36:54We work
36:55very closely
36:56with
36:56Professor Hammond
36:58of Windrush
36:59against sewage
37:00pollution.
37:01We have a
37:02regular
37:03and very
37:03fruitful
37:04dialogue with him.
37:05You've worked
37:06closely with
37:07Professor Hammond.
37:09He and
37:10Ashley Smith
37:11sent you
37:12at least
37:1213
37:13emails
37:14detailing
37:14evidence
37:15of illegal
37:16sewage dumping.
37:17He published
37:18five evidence
37:19reports
37:20documenting
37:21water company
37:22criminality,
37:23all of which
37:23were sent to
37:24you or your
37:25senior colleagues.
37:26they invited
37:27you to come
37:28and look
37:29at the river
37:29in 2019
37:31and the
37:32following year
37:33sent you
37:34an email
37:34with the
37:35heading
37:36Environment
37:37Agency
37:37Complicit
37:38in Lawbreaking.
37:44They never
37:45heard back.
37:46You never
37:47once replied
37:48in five
37:49years.
37:51How did
37:52you manage
37:52to work
37:53so closely
37:53with Professor
37:54Hammond
37:54when you
37:54never once
37:55spoke to him?
37:56At the
37:56Thames Water
37:57Mogden
37:58Treatment
37:59Works,
37:59there was
38:00a spill
38:01of 240
38:04Olympic
38:05swimming pools
38:06of sewage
38:06in a single
38:07day.
38:08The existing
38:08monitoring
38:09failed to
38:10pick that
38:10up.
38:11Now,
38:12why was
38:12that?
38:13There will
38:13always be
38:14times when
38:15something
38:16happens,
38:17usually
38:17accidentally,
38:19but if
38:19we find
38:20that a
38:21water company
38:22has breached
38:22its permit,
38:24we will
38:25take appropriate
38:25action.
38:26Does
38:27appropriate
38:27action include
38:28prosecuting water
38:29company executives?
38:30Prosecution is a
38:31very high bar,
38:32but where we
38:35think that's
38:36appropriate,
38:37we wouldn't
38:38hesitate.
38:38Did you
38:39prosecute in
38:39this case?
38:40No.
38:42Have you
38:42ever prosecuted
38:43any water
38:44company executives?
38:45No, but
38:47if we thought
38:48the evidence
38:49warranted it,
38:50we wouldn't
38:50hesitate.
38:53last year you
38:54told this
38:54committee that
38:55you became
38:55aware of
38:55sewage dumping
38:56in May
38:572021?
38:58Yes.
38:59But three
39:00weeks after
39:00that, you
39:01told the
39:01committee that
39:02the water
39:02companies were
39:03improving and
39:04that more of
39:04them were
39:05getting four
39:06out of four
39:07stars.
39:08Why were you
39:09telling the
39:10committee that
39:10the water
39:11companies were
39:11doing a
39:12four-star
39:12job?
39:15Well, you've
39:17quoted
39:18everything I
39:19said.
39:19I think I
39:20stand by
39:21everything I
39:22said.
39:23I think
39:24you'll find
39:25them mutually
39:26consistent.
39:28The agency's
39:29job is to
39:30make sure
39:31the water
39:32companies obey
39:33the criminal
39:34law, but it
39:34doesn't do it,
39:35and the water
39:35companies do
39:36whatever they
39:37want.
39:37The alleged
39:38crimes of
39:39their directors
39:40are never
39:42prosecuted.
39:43They've built
39:44criminality into
39:46their business
39:46models because
39:47pollution is
39:48highly profitable
39:49and repeat
39:50offending has
39:50no consequences.
39:53Therefore, in
39:54the light of the
39:55remarkable absence
39:56of any
39:57counter-corruption
39:58measures, we
39:58demand an
39:59investigation into
40:00the environment
40:01agency.
40:04The key test
40:06for me on
40:06regulation.
40:07Less regulation.
40:08Is it something
40:09that enables the
40:10builders, not
40:10the blockers?
40:11Cut guidance
40:12by 80%.
40:13We've also
40:14got to look at
40:14regulation.
40:15Regulations
40:16will go and
40:17where it is
40:17needlessly holding
40:18back the
40:19investment.
40:19Reduce the
40:20amount and
40:21the burden of
40:21regulation.
40:22Rip up the
40:23bureaucracy that
40:23blocks investment.
40:25Northumbria and
40:25water recorded
40:2630.1 spills per
40:27overflow over the
40:28course of 2023.
40:31280,000 hours and
40:34change in total.
40:35The chief executive,
40:37Heidi Mottram,
40:37received a bonus of
40:38Ā£234,000 that
40:41year.
40:43Why did you take
40:44football tickets from
40:46the parent company?
40:48Well, I didn't.
40:49Okay.
40:50C.K.
40:50Hutchins Holdings
40:51owns 75% of Chung
40:53Kong Infrastructure
40:54Holdings, the owner of
40:55Northumbrian Water, and
40:56you declared Ā£2,000 in
40:58football tickets and
40:59hospitality.
41:00On that occasion, there
41:02was nobody from a
41:03water company that was
41:04involved in offering
41:05those tickets.
41:06There was nobody from a
41:06water company at that
41:07event.
41:08I wouldn't have known
41:09that.
41:10They weren't present.
41:10You should have known
41:11that.
41:11You said that these
41:12sort of people should
41:13potentially be in the
41:14dock if they have been
41:16found to break the
41:16rules.
41:17You took Ā£2,000 in
41:19tickets and hospitality
41:20for a football match
41:21from bosses linked to
41:22that company that
41:23polluted that water.
41:24Why should people in
41:25Northumbria think that
41:27you're fit for your
41:28job?
41:28I certainly wouldn't
41:28have known that.
41:29And trust me by what
41:29I did.
41:30Why not?
41:30Trust me by what I
41:31did.
41:31No, no, that is
41:32what you did.
41:44Environment Minister
41:46Steve Reid is pursuing
41:47legal action against a
41:49group of anglers trying
41:50to restore the ecosystem
41:51of their local river on
41:53the grounds that cleaning
41:55up individual rivers is
41:57administratively unworked.
41:59Unbreakable concerns are
42:00being raised about the
42:01number of leading labor
42:01figures with links to
42:03lobbying funds working for
42:04water companies among the
42:05invited guests at the
42:07government's international
42:08investment summit was
42:09Macquarie Bank described as
42:11the vampire kangaroo by
42:13critics Macquarie presided over
42:15the near collapse of
42:16Thames water leaving it
42:1810 billion pounds in debt
42:19after having illegally dumped
42:21billions of litres of raw
42:23sewage.
42:39Reuben?
42:48I know I can't be left alone
42:49with her.
42:54privatised water is a better
42:56deal than nationalised water
42:59that the water privatisation I
43:01believe will go very
43:03successfully indeed that will
43:05go very successfully indeed
43:06and perhaps therefore we have
43:08better wait and see so that we
43:10can contemplate in the light of
43:12the fact.
43:12How did it come to this?
43:16How did it happen that England
43:21is the only place in the whole
43:23world whose water system is wholly
43:28privatised?
43:29That our seas and our rivers are full
43:33of shite?
43:35I just feel like we're trying to
43:37bring down England's biggest
43:40organised crime syndicate.
43:43I mean they're not the mafia.
43:46These water companies, they're not
43:47a drugs cartel but they do dump
43:50sewage a thousand times a day and
43:53almost all of those are illegal.
43:56And the cash they've accumulated
44:01Ā£145 billion since privatisation
44:04and they've got that because they
44:06seem to have built criminality
44:08into their business models.
44:11So they are like an organised crime
44:14syndicate.
44:16And the CEOs and the owners are like
44:20crime bosses.
44:21I mean they don't murder people
44:22obviously.
44:24They're not assassins.
44:28But me and Peter are sitting here
44:30waiting for these crime lords to put
44:33things right.
44:36And if we leave them to their own
44:39devices they never will.
44:43They never will.
44:45We've put the things that we own and
44:49care about together, we've put them
44:52into the hands of financial
44:53speculators, whose job it is, is just
44:56to make money.
44:58We need to put the people who care
45:01in charge.
46:01And with our guns and things ID is
46:02ever.
46:02So you're ģģ as if it was
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