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Dirty Business S01E03 (2026) [Full Movie] [High Quality]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, me neither.
02:12No.
02:36Come on.
02:59You've worked in surveillance, haven't you, for years,
03:01so you're telling me you can't actually see if they've got a new computer or not?
03:06No.
03:08I'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.
03:31He took a sample of the blood.
03:32There 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.
03:44And then nothing, nothing happens.
03:48What do you think this is, sir?
03:49Anything they can find to discredit us.
03:53Something 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...
04:17Jala'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,
04:26the first thing I did...
04:29was 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...
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, 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.
05:02And let's find that fucking whistleblower.
05:04Right.
05:05June 2019.
05:07Sir James Bevan Environment Agency.
05:10Dear Sir James,
05:11I'm writing to your office
05:12as I'm sure you will know where to direct the question.
05:14October 2019.
05:16Dear Sir James,
05:18I wrote to you to raise concerns
05:19about a serious integrity issue
05:21involving the agency.
05:23Dear Sir James,
05:2434 days have now passed
05:26since I sent you evidence.
05:27I've given up expecting a reply from you.
05:32Dear Ashley,
05:34I am in the receipt
05:36of your email
05:39to Sir James.
05:41Would you mind coming to our office
05:42and would the 19th suit?
05:55Is Sir James not coming?
05:57I'm afraid not.
05:58No, Sir James wouldn't routinely
06:00attend meetings at this kind of level.
06:02I'd hoped he'd be here.
06:04He's time poor.
06:06He's aware of your work.
06:07Well, we're trying to find out
06:09what you're going to do
06:10about the illegal
06:12sewage overflow at Boughton.
06:14The combined storm overflow.
06:15The combined storm overflow
06:18at Burton has shown
06:18no detectable effects
06:20on the water quality.
06:21The water quality is stable
06:22and not deteriorating.
06:24I mean, our data shows very clearly
06:25that we have the best quality water
06:27since the Industrial Revolution.
06:31The water's turned brown.
06:32Yeah.
06:33It's turned so brown
06:35that when it joins the Thames
06:36at Newbridge,
06:36it makes the Thames look
06:37like a Swiss mountain stream.
06:40The water is brown in places,
06:43but that's a natural phenomenon.
06:45It's caused by a geological fault.
06:47A geological fault?
06:48Yeah.
06:49Yeah.
06:49Sorry, a geological fault
06:51is millions of years old.
06:53We remember when the water was clear.
06:55No one remembers the good old days
06:57before the geological fault.
06:58In the last 12 months
07:00since we installed sensors,
07:01there's been no evidence of pollution.
07:03Well, that's because you've installed
07:04the monitors upstream
07:05from the sewage pipes.
07:06Now, is that incompetence
07:08or an attempt to cover up a scandal?
07:10No.
07:10No.
07:10The agency would never position
07:12a monitor to achieve
07:13a particular reading.
07:14We are working extremely hard
07:15to transform the environment.
07:16We've improved and protected
07:18something like,
07:18I think it's 15,000 kilometres of river.
07:21It's like, but you've had 92 complaints
07:25from the general public
07:26about sewage pollution.
07:28Well, that's just the wind rush.
07:29I've actually got the breakdown here.
07:32Yeah, yeah.
07:35In, well, in 36 of those cases,
07:37there was no offence.
07:39And in 39, there was insufficient evidence.
07:44And in 6, we were unable
07:47to identify the offender.
07:48Well, what do you mean
07:49you couldn't identify the offenders?
07:51Why can't you identify the offenders?
07:52There's seven sewage works
07:54along the wind rush.
07:55They're all run by Thames Water.
07:56I mean, you say you've got
07:57insufficient evidence,
07:58but we keep giving you the evidence.
08:00All we ever do
08:01is give you the evidence
08:02and all we get back
08:02is it's under investigation.
08:04And then nothing,
08:06nothing,
08:07nothing ever happens.
08:08In exceptional circumstances,
08:11for example, after heavy rain,
08:13the sewage systems
08:14are allowed to overflow.
08:15No, no, no, no.
08:17You see, that's not the law.
08:18The law is that in all normal
08:20climatic conditions,
08:21including heavy rainfall,
08:24the water companies
08:24have to treat the sewage.
08:25They have to make it safe
08:26before they put it back into the river.
08:29The law is a grey area.
08:30No, no, it's not a grey area
08:32with respect.
08:33It's the law.
08:33Sorry, can I?
08:35Sorry.
08:37Thames is their own data.
08:40It shows they stopped
08:42treating sewage
08:43at Northridge
08:44for more than three months.
08:46Now, they told us
08:47that their sensors
08:49had broken down,
08:50but we think they're lying.
08:54They're lying.
08:55So why would they do that?
08:58Why would they lie to you?
09:18We're attempting regulators.
09:23Sorry?
09:25The regulation isn't real.
09:27The government want us
09:28to look like a regulator,
09:29but they won't let us do our job.
09:32OK.
09:34When Cameron and Trust
09:35gutted the agency,
09:37we went from regulating
09:38the industry
09:38to doing its bidding.
09:41Do you think we could
09:42take your number?
09:43We'll just keep going.
09:47This is going to be
09:48the first government
09:49in modern history
09:50that at the end
09:52of its parliamentary term
09:53has less regulation in place
09:54than there was
09:55at the beginning.
09:56We've now identified
09:58those 3,000 regulations
09:59that we're going to scrap.
10:00Let's reduce the amount
10:01and the burden
10:02of regulation
10:03strangled by red tape.
10:04Cut back the health
10:05and safety monster.
10:06Cut guidance by 80%
10:08and we reduce farm inspections
10:09by 34,000 every year.
10:12Regulations will...
10:13None of my ministers
10:13could introduce a regulation
10:15unless they abolished one
10:16at the same time.
10:17Massively reduce
10:18the number of rules,
10:20laws and regulations
10:21that frankly treat
10:22all of you like idiots.
10:27So, really,
10:28it's about stripping out
10:30as much unnecessary regulation
10:32as possible
10:33and taking responsibility
10:35for climate change
10:36and saying
10:37what more can we do
10:39to get us to net zero?
10:41As you know,
10:42this is a passion project
10:43for Sir James
10:44who feels
10:45that we
10:46can bring
10:47our car usage down
10:48by 70%.
10:50Yeah.
10:52It's...
10:53Yeah.
10:53So,
10:54from next month
10:55we're going to be taking
10:56the bold decision
10:58to cut back decisively
10:59on our car leases.
11:04Yeah.
11:05Come on.
11:06Sorry.
11:07Mm-hmm.
11:07Just like to clarify
11:08what...
11:09You're going to get
11:10rid of our cars.
11:12So, it's about
11:13reducing
11:14the agency's
11:15carbon footprint.
11:16Just getting that...
11:17Yeah.
11:18Go ahead, Hannah.
11:19The cars that we
11:21drive to the inspections in.
11:23Right.
11:24Yeah.
11:24So, self-monitoring
11:26and a more
11:27desk-based regulation
11:28is really...
11:29It's really
11:30helping us
11:30move the needle
11:31on climate change.
11:35But...
11:36The remaining inspections...
11:39Well, yeah.
11:40How do we get
11:41to those
11:41without a car?
11:43Yeah.
11:45It's a great question.
11:46It's a really great question.
11:48And we'll take that
11:49forward
11:49to the next discussion meeting.
11:51Thanks, Hannah.
11:53Yeah, lovely.
11:53Thanks, everyone.
11:54Not easy news to break,
11:55is it?
11:56It's...
11:56I'm surprised.
11:57Ebby's got something to say.
11:58I know.
11:58I know.
11:59I 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
12:09what we're looking at?
12:12Anybody?
12:14Okay.
12:15Could you tell me
12:15what the reactants are?
12:17So, if you move your head
12:19even slightly,
12:19the vertigo gets more intense?
12:21Yeah.
12:22And the attack's happening
12:23maybe twice a week?
12:24About that, yeah.
12:29The good news
12:30is that you don't have cancer.
12:32We actually think
12:33it's Meniere's.
12:34It's a disease
12:35of the inner ear.
12:36The main symptom
12:37is acute vertigo episodes,
12:40vomiting,
12:41tinnitus.
12:43It's a pretty neat fit
12:44with your presentation.
12:48They were dumping sewage
12:51in the water
12:52the last time
12:53before I got sick.
12:54Right.
12:55You know that from...
12:57The Surfers Against Sewage app.
12:59Okay.
13:01Might that be...
13:02The causes are unclear.
13:04It's post-viral.
13:05This often starts
13:06with an ear infection.
13:07You know,
13:07they're common in surfers.
13:08Yeah.
13:09Every surfer I know.
13:13This is a chronic condition.
13:16I'm afraid
13:17there's no cure.
13:38Should we leave the table
13:40where it is?
13:42Just hold his back.
13:44Just see his own mouth.
14:08So, by ending on-site inspections
14:11into categories 3 and 4,
14:13no or low-impact pollution events
14:16and doubling down
14:17on the more serious
14:19Category 1 and 2 incidents,
14:22we think we can turn ourselves
14:24into a more effective
14:25fighting unit.
14:26Yeah.
14:27So, from today,
14:28we are ending
14:29on-site inspections
14:30for Cats 3 and 4.
14:32Any questions?
14:34Well, yeah.
14:37A Category 3 incident
14:39can be 2 kilometres
14:41of sewage.
14:43We want you to not inspect,
14:45to not spend time
14:46on these incidents.
14:49Except that,
14:50since the water companies
14:52have been self-reporting,
14:54they almost always only report
14:57Categories 3s and 4s.
14:58So, they're not actually
14:59reporting a serious incident.
15:01And so,
15:01if the water companies
15:02are only reporting
15:043s and 4s,
15:05and we're no longer
15:07allowed to investigate...
15:08So, what exactly
15:09are we going to be doing?
15:11I've told the government,
15:12you get the regulation
15:14you pay for.
15:14We no longer have the money
15:15to go on inspecting
15:16low-grade pollution events.
15:19We need you to shut down
15:21these reports
15:21as unsubstantiated
15:22or to silently pass them
15:24and to not report them
15:26as pollution incidents.
15:28Is that clear?
15:33Yeah.
15:34Thanks, everyone.
15:35You're on with your day.
15:36Yeah.
15:40I'll just...
15:47We had to fuck.
15:49Fucking wanket.
15:50How are you going to
15:50get to fucking work?
15:52Fuck, Nate.
15:55Horseback.
16:03What time did he call you?
16:05I passed ten last night.
16:08He said you couldn't miss it.
16:20Oh, my God.
16:21Look at him.
16:27Get some shots
16:28and we'll call the agency
16:29on the way back.
16:29Oh, my God.
16:50I'm not there.
16:52I'm not there.
16:52I don't know.
17:43I don't know.
17:51Debbie.
17:52Are you driving into work tomorrow?
17:55Oh 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 going to go and take a look.
18:11Okay.
18:12A bit of freelance investigation.
18:13A bit of freelance, and also he 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?
18:23Obviously not what. I can't tell Sophie anything.
18:31Okay.
18:54Hi. Hi, is that, um, is that Justine? Hi, Justine. Um, it's, it's Hannah from the Environment Agency.
19:02Um, listen, it's about the, um, the pollution event at Hawk Rise. Um, it came through the system at a
19:11duration of 1.34 hours, and I'm here now, and it's still going.
19:19Yeah, yeah, I'm, yeah, I'm here now, yeah. The CSO's still discharging untreated sewage. I mean, there's a section of
19:27the 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.
20:39You know, can you move around, walk for 200 metres?
20:42Of course I can, but not when I'm having an attack.
20:44Okay. Thank 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, I can't do anything.
21:06No, but I...
21:07Personal 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...
21:21One thing to do.
21:31Hannah.
21:32Oh, sh...
21:32Sorry, sorry.
21:33Sorry to scare you.
21:34Um, do you have a second?
21:36Can I have a word?
21:36Of course.
21:37Yeah?
21:38Okay.
21:38So I've just, I just got off the phone to Justine Wright-Phillips at the Water Company.
21:42Yeah?
21:43Yeah, she said, she said you called her.
21:45Yeah.
21:46Yeah, 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
21:54and people kept calling up complaining
21:56and nobody was doing anything about it, so I...
21:57But 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
22:14is really high.
22:16Is it?
22:17Yeah, she says there's like a strong current
22:19and a high dispersal rate of the untreated surge.
22:20The overflow pipe has been discharging for over 36 hours
22:23and it is still going.
22:25All right, that is the water company's responsibility
22:27to report to us.
22:29You know this.
22:32Okay, and Justine says that actually really
22:34because of the high dispersal rate
22:37that it should come down to a Category 4.
22:41Be a Category 4?
22:43Yes.
22:43Right.
22:46So, no impact on the environment,
22:49no action needed?
22:50Yes.
22:52Mm-hmm.
22:56Oh, you want me to change it on the system?
22:58Could you?
22:58Could you?
22:59Yeah?
23:00Okay, thanks so much.
23:02That's great.
23:03Lovely.
23:12So, you see how well we're doing?
23:14Yeah, of course.
23:14Are 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.
23:25So, we don't have clients, Cheryl.
23:28We're an environment agency.
23:29Okay, yes, sorry.
23:30Yes, we don't have clients.
23:32But, 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, lobbying them, going, my, JG, and the
23:46charges are taken down.
23:48No.
23:48Not a peep.
23:49Not a peep.
23:51Sorry, they're just paying it.
23:54We've basically had such a high revenue spike, yeah, that we are on our way to becoming a
24:01client-funded regulator.
24:04Sorry, hold on one minute.
24:05This is going a bit...
24:06So, you're saying that the water companies are funding the Environment Agency.
24:12That's what you're...
24:14You 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, Sir James said that you get the regulation
24:31that 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?
24:53Mm-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, pregnant.
25:10No.
25:11Yeah.
25:12Yeah.
25:13I sort of just had a funny feeling and then, yeah, did one test, two lines, and then I did
25:19another test and it said two lines for someone.
25:21I was like, fuck.
25:24Fuck.
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 means
25:50things do go wrong.
25:51Just say Victorian sewage network.
25:5312 percent.
25:5412?
25:5512 percent?
25:56What's 12 percent?
25:5812 percent 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, then after privatization came in, they just stopped.
26:23Not just Thames, all of them.
26:26Six percent new plants is privatization.
26:29Six percent?
26:30Six percent.
26:31They said, oh, you know, it'd be good if 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.
26:44Fucking massive.
26:46Upton Park.
26:46Now, that was a proper stadium, babe.
26:48London Stadium is too big.
26:49You need fucking binoculars.
26:52Sorry, Pete, did you want to see an EDM?
26:54Oh, yes, yes, 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
27:09they spend dumping raw sewage.
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 put it, publish the numbers.
27:25They have to, by law.
27:26They're not going to like it, but tough shit.
27:30EDMs.
27:32Yes.
27:35So, we are finalizing plans for the statutory publication of the EDM numbers.
27:44As you know, there have been some technical delays,
27:48but 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 for a total of 3.1 million hours.
28:17That's a bit of a shocker.
28:18Can I just say that since operator self-monitoring, we've had to rely on the water companies to
28:25report back to us.
28:26I think that the key here is that this doesn't get framed as 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 to bear down on the problem.
28:46But that's 1,100 criminal offences a day.
28:51Well, that's actually, that's debatable, because that depends on the terms of the permit
28:54and the circumstances around each spill.
28:57Yeah.
28:58And we know the legislation permits discharging after heavy rainfall.
29:02No, it doesn't.
29:03Sorry, Hannah.
29:04The law doesn't say that you can just dump sewage after heavy rain.
29:09It says that in all normal, climatic and seasonal circumstances, the water companies have to
29:14treat the sewage, not just dump it.
29:17But it'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, um, you...
29:37Did you want to...
29:37No, no, you finish off here, Sophie.
29:43So we've identified the problem, and now we work on the problem.
29:45Yeah.
29:46Which is reframing and owning the narrative.
29:48Yeah, we don't want this to get misconstrued as some sort of failure on our part, because
29:51it just isn't.
29:52Thanks.
29:52That's really good.
29:53Yeah, thanks so much.
29:54Thanks.
29:56Cool.
29:57Lovely.
29:57Thanks, guys.
29:58Thanks so much.
29:59By the way, um, so, I've heard you're going to give evidence in public.
30:04Parliament.
30:05Yes.
30:06Yes.
30:06Amazing.
30:07Yeah, I think he had mad.
30:09What does that mean, thinking about it?
30:11He's, uh, he's nervous.
30:13Not that 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...
30:18It's difficult.
30:19Pete.
30:19Don't worry about it.
30:20I'll...
30:20Yeah.
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 two billion litres of sewage in the Thames over two days.
30:40Environment agency haven't got a Scooby.
30:42Did they send you the data?
30:43I've got the data, yeah.
30:44Can you send that to us?
30:45I will send it to you.
30:46We're not going to let you down.
30:48Exactly.
30:48Please.
30:49You can do this.
30:50Come on, Pete.
30:51That's all right.
30:52You're a legend, mate.
30:53Come on.
31:03We now have the lowest number of serious pollution incidents from water companies that we have yet recorded.
31:11More water companies are now at the highest level of performance.
31:16It's what we call four-star performance.
31:19We now have the lowest number of serious pollution incidents from water companies that we have yet recorded.
31:54I'm an environment officer.
31:55I'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 the appraiser 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 smoke screen.
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.
33:37Right.
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
33:55currently hold shares in UK water companies.
33:58The agency claimed it would break data protection laws
34:02if it disclosed the information.
34:03Environment Agency chiefs secretly held a series of private dinners
34:07with water company bosses at the Royal Automobile Club in central London.
34:11Documents released under the Freedom of Information Act
34:14showed the meetings were held to discuss how to quell public anger
34:18over sewage spending.
34:19As the sewage scandal deepens, Environment Agency CEO,
34:23Sir James Bevan, has been called to give evidence to a parliamentary committee.
34:27Well, we need to talk about what we say in public
34:29and the responsibilities we have.
34:33You have a duty not to openly criticise or discredit the organisation in the media or on social media,
34:42or 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
34:55by making derogatory comments about the organisation or your 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 all right.
35:35I need a bloody toilet.
35:37Do you want a pie?
35:38What does that mean?
35:43Well, um,
35:43my garden is an island
35:47which the Windrush wraps around.
35:52I've watched it closely for 18 years
35:55and I watched the water turn brown.
35:58I led a team of scientists
36:00using a machine learning analysis
36:03of two sewage treatment works
36:05run by Tentwater.
36:07One of those works,
36:09the Environment Agency said
36:11over 10 years,
36:12that only two pollution incidents
36:15have been reported.
36:16Our machine learning analysis,
36:21it showed hundreds of illegal spills.
36:25More than 300 lasted 24 hours
36:29and some longer than 10 days
36:34and some for a month.
36:37Have you shown this evidence
36:38to the Environment Agency?
36:40Well, yeah, I've shown the evidence
36:42many times.
36:44What usually happens
36:45is that they
36:47they say that
36:48they show a sign of interest
36:50but then
36:50nothing happens.
36:54We work very closely
36:56with Professor Hammond
36:58of Windrush
36:59against sewage pollution.
37:01We have a
37:02regular and very
37:03fruitful dialogue with him.
37:05You've worked closely
37:07with Professor Hammond.
37:09He and Ashley Smith
37:11sent you at least
37:1213 emails
37:14detailing evidence
37:15of illegal sewage dumping.
37:17He published
37:18five evidence reports
37:20documenting water company
37:22criminality,
37:23all of which were sent to
37:24you or your senior colleagues.
37:26They invited you
37:27to come and look
37:29at the river
37:29in 2019
37:31and the following year
37:33sent you an email
37:34with the heading
37:36Environment Agency
37:37complicit in lawbreaking.
37:44They never heard back.
37:46You never once replied
37:48in five years.
37:51How did you manage
37:52to work so closely
37:53with Professor Hammond
37:54when you never once
37:55spoke to him?
37:56At the Thames Water
37:57Modern Treatment Works
37:59there was a spill
38:01of 240 Olympic swimming pools
38:06of sewage
38:06in a single day.
38:08The existing monitoring
38:09failed to pick that up.
38:11Now why was that?
38:13There will always be times
38:15when something happens,
38:17usually accidentally.
38:19But if we find
38:20that a water company
38:22has breached its permit,
38:24we will take appropriate
38:25action.
38:26Does appropriate action
38:28include prosecuting
38:29water company executives?
38:30Prosecution is a very
38:31high bar, but...
38:34Where we think
38:35that's appropriate,
38:37we wouldn't hesitate.
38:38Did you prosecute
38:39in this case?
38:40No.
38:42Have you ever prosecuted
38:43any water company executives?
38:45No, but...
38:47If we thought the evidence
38:49warranted it,
38:50we wouldn't hesitate.
38:53Last year,
38:53you told this committee
38:54that you became aware
38:55of sewage dumping
38:56in May 2021.
38:58Yes.
38:59But three weeks after that,
39:01you told the committee
39:02that the water companies
39:03were improving,
39:04and that more of them
39:04were getting
39:06four out of four stars.
39:08Why were you telling
39:09the committee that
39:10the water companies
39:11were doing a four-star job?
39:15Well, you've quoted
39:18everything I said.
39:19I think I stand
39:21by everything I said.
39:23I think you'll find
39:25them mutually consistent.
39:28The agency's job
39:30is to make sure
39:31the water companies
39:32obey the criminal law,
39:34but it doesn't do it,
39:35and the water companies
39:36do whatever they want.
39:37The alleged crimes
39:39of their directors
39:40are never prosecuted.
39:43They've built criminality
39:45into their business models
39:47because pollution
39:47is highly profitable
39:49and repeat offending
39:50has no consequences.
39:52Therefore,
39:54in the light
39:55of the remarkable absence
39:56of any counter-corruption measures,
39:58we demand an investigation
40:00into the Environment Agency.
40:04The key test for me
40:06on regulation...
40:07Less regulation...
40:08Is it something
40:09that enables the builders,
40:10not the blockers?
40:11Cut guidance by 80%.
40:13We've also got to look
40:14at regulation...
40:15Regulations will go...
40:17And where it is needlessly
40:18holding back the investment...
40:19Reduce the amount
40:20and the burden of regulation...
40:22Rip up the bureaucracy
40:23that blocks investment...
40:25Northumbria and Water
40:25recorded 30.1 spills
40:27per overflow
40:28over the course of 2023.
40:31280,000 hours
40:33and change in total.
40:35The chief executive,
40:37Heidi Mottram,
40:38received a bonus
40:38of £234,000
40:40that year.
40:43Why did you take
40:44football tickets
40:45from the parent company?
40:47Well, I didn't.
40:49OK.
40:50C.K. Hutchins Holdings
40:51owns 75%
40:52of Chung Kong
40:53Infrastructure Holdings,
40:54the owner of
40:55Northumbria and Water.
40:56And you declared
40:57£2,000 in football tickets
40:58and hospitality.
40:59Well, on that occasion,
41:01there was nobody
41:02from a water company
41:03that was involved
41:04in offering those tickets.
41:06There was nobody
41:06from a water company
41:07at that event.
41:08Well, I wouldn't
41:09have known that.
41:10They weren't present.
41:10You should have known that.
41:11You said that
41:12these sort of people
41:13should potentially
41:14be in the dock
41:14if they have been
41:16found to break the rules.
41:17You took £2,000
41:19in tickets and hospitality
41:20for a football match
41:21from bosses linked
41:22to that company
41:23that polluted that water.
41:24Why should people
41:25in Northumbria
41:26think that you're
41:27fit for your job?
41:28You certainly wouldn't
41:28have known that
41:29and judge me
41:29by what I did.
41:29Why not?
41:30Judge me by what I did.
41:31No, no, that is
41:32what you did.
41:45Environment Minister
41:46Steve Reed
41:46is pursuing legal action
41:48against a group of anglers
41:49trying to restore
41:50the ecosystem
41:51of their local river
41:52on the grounds
41:54that cleaning up
41:55individual rivers
41:56is administratively
41:58unworkable.
41:59Concerns have been raised
42:00about the number
42:01of leading labour figures
42:02with links to lobbying
42:03firms working
42:04for water companies.
42:05Among the invited guests
42:06at the government's
42:07International Investment Summit
42:09was Macquarie Bank.
42:10Described as the
42:12vampire kangaroo
42:13by critics
42:14Macquarie presided
42:15over the near collapse
42:16of Thames water
42:17leaving it 10 billion
42:18pounds in debt
42:19after having illegally
42:20dumped billions
42:21of litres of raw sewage.
42:40Reuben?
42:48I know I can't be
42:49left alone with her.
42:54privatised water
42:55is a better deal
42:56than nationalised water
42:59that the water
43:00privatisation
43:01I believe
43:02will go very
43:03successfully indeed
43:04that will go
43:05very successfully indeed
43:06and perhaps therefore
43:08we have better
43:08wait and see
43:09so that we can
43:10contemplate in the light
43:11of the fact.
43:13How did it come to this?
43:16How did it
43:17how did it happen
43:19that England
43:21is the only place
43:22in the whole world
43:24whose water system
43:25is wholly privatised?
43:29That our seas
43:31and our rivers
43:32are full of shite?
43:35I just feel like
43:37we're trying to
43:37bring down
43:38England's
43:39biggest organised
43:40crime
43:41syndicate.
43:43I mean
43:44they're not the mafia
43:45these water companies
43:47they're not a drugs cartel
43:48but they do
43:49dump sewage
43:51a thousand times
43:52a day
43:53and almost
43:54all of those
43:55are illegal
43:55and the cash
43:57they've accumulated
44:01145 billion pounds
44:03since privatisation
44:04and they've got that
44:05because they seem
44:06to have built
44:07criminality
44:08into their business models.
44:11so they are like
44:13an organised crime
44:14syndicate
44:16and the CEOs
44:17and the owners
44:18are like
44:20crime bosses.
44:21I mean
44:21they don't murder people
44:22obviously
44:24they're not assassins
44:28but me and Peter
44:29are sitting here
44:30waiting
44:30for these crime lords
44:33to put things right
44:35and
44:37if we leave them
44:38to their own devices
44:40they never will.
44:43They never will.
44:45We've put the things
44:47that we own
44:48and care about
44:50together
44:51we've put them
44:52into the hands
44:53of financial speculators
44:54whose job it is
44:55is just
44:56to make money.
44:58We need to put
44:59the people
45:00who care
45:01in charge.
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