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00:03I'm not sure if I'm gonna come in really yeah you'll be fine because you're drowning
00:13or maybe you try it for a bit I'll go first
00:17it's looking good it's looking rough it's a scabby cat I'm not sure
00:24I'm fine see you
00:51no prints
00:55nothing taken or disturbed
01:00no unfortunately the the blood sample wasn't big enough for the lab to get a full DNA read
01:07it's disappointing
01:11well I really thought there was enough for a full sample
01:14apparently not
01:16what about the glove mark not enough resolution for them to do anything with
01:20you know I took photos of the house right after the break-in
01:26and nothing was touched
01:27no
01:30or they put everything back in its place which is what you would do if you were installing a listening
01:34device I've applied for warrants to do exactly that
01:37you're a copper serious crime squad covert surveillance unit counter corruption
01:42I'm innocent
01:45well I mean as you know we've done a couple of sweeps
01:53nothing
01:55no me neither
01:56so um
01:58you know there's not much more we can do
02:02okay
02:07okay
02:13oh
02:34Oh, my God.
02:44Oh, my God.
02:46Oh, my God.
03:06You've worked in surveillance, haven't you, for years, so...
03:10You're telling me you can't actually see if they've got in your computer or not?
03:14No.
03:17I've done what I can to check, but you just can't tell now.
03:20You see, there's this incognito spyware runs a keylogger in the background,
03:25which means they can record every key you press, every mouse click.
03:28They can see the emails you write, your messages, your passwords, etc., everything.
03:33But they build it so you don't know it's there.
03:35What did the police say?
03:38Well, an officer came out.
03:40He took a sample of the blood.
03:42There was some blood on the handle downstairs,
03:45and he thought he could see a disposable glove mark in it,
03:48which means that whoever did it wants to make sure they're untraceable.
03:52He did think they could find a DNA result.
03:54And then nothing, nothing happens.
03:58What do you think this is, sir?
04:00Anything they can find to discredit us.
04:03Something that would look good on the cover of the Daily Mail, for example.
04:07I mean, I can't think of anything that, you know, I mean, I'm...
04:10Well, you know what it is.
04:12What's that?
04:14It's the Free Jazz.
04:16If that gets out, we're fucked.
04:17Oh, fuck off.
04:19But who would want to discredit us, I...
04:22I don't know.
04:22Could be a burglar who just got scared and legged it.
04:26Yeah, well, or he could have just seen Jala's Hawaiian cushions.
04:30Don't say that in front of Jala.
04:32I'm not going to do that, am I?
04:33I want to hang on to my balls.
04:36You know, the other day when this happened,
04:38the first thing I did was pick up the phone to you.
04:43Yeah, no, I did see it, yeah.
04:45You probably saw it.
04:46I hung up just to...
04:49Yeah, I just think that what we need now is we need a whistleblower.
04:56And we need someone from inside the agents...
05:00And high up.
05:01From through the top, yeah.
05:05Eileen said that we must be making a difference.
05:07Did she?
05:07Yeah, she did.
05:08So, come on, let's...
05:10That's the point, isn't it?
05:11Yeah, we are.
05:12There's no point doing this unless we make a difference.
05:13No, let's keep going.
05:15Let's keep going and let's find that fucking whistleblower.
05:18Right.
05:19June 2019.
05:21Sir James Bevan Environment Agency.
05:24Dear Sir James, I'm writing to your office
05:26as I'm sure you will know where to direct the question.
05:29October 2019.
05:31Dear Sir James,
05:32I wrote to you to raise concerns about a serious integrity issue
05:36involving the agency.
05:38Dear Sir James,
05:3934 days have now passed since I sent you evidence.
05:42I've given up expecting a reply from you.
05:47Dear Ashley,
05:50I am in the seat of your email
05:54to Sir James.
05:57Would you mind coming to our office
05:58and would the 19th suit?
06:12Is Sir James not coming?
06:13I'm afraid not.
06:15No, Sir James wouldn't routinely attend meetings
06:18at this kind of level.
06:19I'd hoped he'd be here.
06:21He's time for.
06:23He's aware of your work.
06:24Well, we're trying to find out
06:26what you're going to do about the illegal
06:30sewage overflow at Boughton.
06:31The combined storm overflow.
06:33The combined storm overflow at Burton
06:36has shown no detectable effects on the water quality.
06:39The water quality is stable and not deteriorating.
06:42I mean, our data shows very clearly
06:43that we have the best quality water
06:45since the Industrial Revolution.
06:49The water's turned brown.
06:51Yeah.
06:52It's turned so brown
06:53that when it joins the Thames at Newbridge,
06:55it makes the Thames look like a Swiss mountain stream.
06:59The water is brown in places,
07:02but that's a natural phenomenon.
07:04It's caused by a geological fault.
07:06A geological fault?
07:07Yeah.
07:08Sorry, a geological fault is millions of years old.
07:13We remember when the water was clear.
07:15No-one remembers the good old days
07:16before the geological fault.
07:18In the last 12 months since we installed sensors,
07:21there's been no evidence of pollution.
07:23Well, that's because you've installed the monitors upstream
07:25from the sewage pipes.
07:26Now, is that incompetence
07:28or an attempt to cover up a scandal?
07:30No, no.
07:31The agency would never position a monitor
07:33to achieve a particular reading.
07:34We are working extremely hard
07:36to transform the environment.
07:37We've improved and protected something like,
07:39I think it's 15,000 kilometres of river.
07:43It's right, but you've had 92 complaints
07:46from the general public about sewage pollution.
07:49And that's just the wind rush.
07:50I've actually got the breakdown here.
07:52It's, uh, uh, let's see.
07:54Yeah, yeah.
07:55Uh, in, uh, well, in 36 of those cases,
07:59there was, um, no offence.
08:01And in 39, there was insufficient evidence.
08:06And in six, we were unable to identify the offender.
08:11Oh, what do you mean you couldn't identify the offenders?
08:13Why can't you identify the offenders?
08:15There's seven sewage works along the wind rush
08:17that are all run by Thames water.
08:19So, I mean, you say you've got insufficient evidence,
08:21but we keep giving you the evidence.
08:23All we ever do is give you the evidence,
08:25and all we get back is it's under investigation.
08:27And then nothing, nothing, nothing ever happens.
08:32In, in exceptional circumstances,
08:34for example, after heavy rain,
08:36the sewage systems are allowed to overflow.
08:39No, no, no, no.
08:40You see, that's not, that's not the law.
08:42The law is that in all normal climatic conditions,
08:45including heavy rainfall,
08:47the water companies have to treat the sewage.
08:50They have to make it safe
08:51before they put it back into the river.
08:53The law is a grey area.
08:54No, no, it's not a grey area, with respect.
08:57It's the law.
08:58Sorry, um, can I?
09:00Sorry.
09:02Thames is that their own data,
09:05it shows they stopped treating sewage
09:08at Northledge for more than three months.
09:11Now, they told us that their senses had broken down,
09:15but we think they're lying.
09:19They're lying.
09:21So, well, why would they do that?
09:23Why would they lie to you?
09:38Doors, clean here.
09:44We're Potemkin regulators.
09:49Sorry?
09:52The regulation isn't real.
09:54The government want us to look like a regulator,
09:57but they won't let us do our job.
09:59Okay.
10:02When Cameron and Truss gutted the agency,
10:04we went from regulating the industry
10:06to doing its bidding.
10:09Look, do you think we could take your number...
10:11Look, just keep going.
10:15This is going to be the first government
10:17in modern history
10:19that at the end of its parliamentary term
10:21has less regulation in place
10:23than there was at the beginning.
10:25We've now identified those 3,000 regulations
10:28that we're going to scrap.
10:29Let's reduce the amount
10:30and the burden of regulation...
10:32Strangled by red tape.
10:33Cut back the health and safety monster.
10:36Cut guidance by 80%
10:37and we reduce farm inspections
10:39by 34,000 every year.
10:41Regulations will...
10:42None of my ministers could introduce a regulation
10:44unless they abolished one at the same time.
10:47Massively reduce the number of rules,
10:49laws and regulations
10:50that frankly treat all of you like idiots.
10:57So, really, it's about stripping out
11:00as much unnecessary regulation as possible
11:04and taking responsibility for climate change
11:06and saying,
11:07what more can we do
11:09to get us to net zero?
11:12As you know,
11:13this is a passion project for Sir James
11:15who feels that we can bring our car usage down
11:20by 70%.
11:22Yeah.
11:24It's...
11:25Yeah.
11:25So, from next month,
11:27we're going to be taking the bold decision
11:29to cut back decisively on our car leases.
11:36Yeah.
11:37Sorry.
11:39Just, like, to clarify what...
11:42You're going to get rid of our cars.
11:44So, it's about reducing the agency's carbon footprint.
11:49Just getting that...
11:50Yeah.
11:51Go ahead, Hannah.
11:52The cars that we drive to the inspections in.
11:56Right.
11:57Yeah.
11:57So, self-monitoring
11:59and a more desk-based regulation
12:01is really...
12:02It's really helping us move the needle
12:05on climate change.
12:09But...
12:09The remaining inspections...
12:13Well, yeah.
12:14How do we get to those without a car?
12:17Yeah.
12:19It's a great question.
12:20It's a really great question.
12:22And we'll take that forward
12:23to the next discussion meeting.
12:25Thanks, Hannah.
12:27Yeah, lovely.
12:28Thanks, everyone.
12:29Not easy news to break, is it?
12:30Yeah, I'm surprised.
12:31Debbie's got something to say.
12:32I know, I know.
12:33But my car...
12:34Everyone's driving cars.
12:35We're the environment agency.
12:36Absolutely.
12:37What's wrong with the train?
12:38I'll keep mine, I think.
12:39So, yeah.
12:40Mmm, coffee.
12:42How do I get a coffee?
12:44Does anybody know what we're looking at?
12:47Anybody?
12:50Okay.
12:50Could you tell me what the reactants are?
12:53So, if you move your head even slightly,
12:55the vertigo gets more intense?
12:57Yeah.
12:57And the attack's happening maybe twice a week?
13:00About that, yeah.
13:05The good news is that you don't have cancer.
13:08We actually think it's Meniere's.
13:11It's a disease of the inner ear.
13:13The main symptom is acute vertigo episodes,
13:16vomiting,
13:18tinnitus.
13:20It's a pretty neat fit with your presentation.
13:25They were dumping sewage
13:28in the water
13:29the last time before I got sick.
13:32Right.
13:33You know that from...
13:34The Surfers Against Sewage app.
13:36Okay.
13:39Might that be...
13:40The causes are unclear.
13:42It's post-viral.
13:43This often starts with an ear infection.
13:45You know, they're common in surfers.
13:47Yeah, every surfer I know.
13:51This is a chronic condition.
13:55I'm afraid there's no cure.
14:10I'm afraid there's no cure.
14:11This is a bipolar.
14:18Should we leave the table away?
14:20So we didn't fix the table.
14:22Just hold his back.
14:24So he's going to have to.
14:25Oh,
14:26oh.
14:28Oh.
14:29Oh,
14:29oh,
14:30oh,
14:30oh,
14:31oh,
14:31oh,
14:33oh,
14:34oh,
14:36oh,
14:49so by ending on-site inspections into categories three and four no or low impact pollution events
14:58and doubling down on the more serious category one and two incidents we think we can turn
15:06ourselves into a more effective fighting unit yeah so from today we are ending on-site inspections
15:12for cats three and four any questions well yeah um a category three incident can be two kilometers
15:24of sewage we want you to not inspect to not spend time on these incidents except that since the
15:35water companies have been self-reporting they almost always only report categories threes and
15:42fours so they're not actually reporting the serious incident and so if the water companies are only
15:47reporting threes and fours and we're no longer allowed to investigate so what exactly are we
15:54gonna be doing I've told the government you get the regulation you pay for we no longer have the
16:00money to go on inspecting low-grade pollution events we need you to shut down these reports
16:06as unsubstantiated or to silently pass them and to not report them as pollution incidents is that clear
16:19yeah thank you thanks everyone good on with your day yeah
16:33we had to fuck fucking one kid how are you gonna get to fucking work fuck nice horseback
16:50what time did he call you half past ten last night
16:53he said he couldn't miss it
17:08oh my god look at it
17:15get some shots and we'll call the agency on the way back
17:33get some shots and we'll call the agency on the way back
17:34get some shots and we'll call the agency on the way back
17:34get some shots and we'll call the agency on the way back
17:34get some shots and we'll call the agency on the way back
17:36get some shots and we'll call the agency on the way back
17:37get some shots and we'll call the agency on the way back
17:37get some shots and we'll call the agency on the way back
17:37get some shots and we'll call the agency on the way back
17:39get some shots and we'll call the agency on the way back
17:39get some shots and we'll call the agency on the way back
17:41get some shots and we'll call the agency on the way back
17:41get some shots and we'll call the agency on the way back
17:42get some shots and we'll call the agency on the way back
17:50I don't know.
18:42Debbie.
18:44Debbie.
18:45Are you driving into work tomorrow?
18:47Oh, yeah, obviously.
18:48How else would I get in?
18:49Well, can I borrow your car at lunchtime?
18:53What for?
18:55Someone keeps calling up and complaining about the same incident.
18:59It's near the bridge at Hawk Rise, so I'm going to go and take a look.
19:03Shh.
19:04Okay.
19:05A bit of freelance investigation.
19:07A bit of freelance.
19:08And also, it needs to be off the books.
19:11And I need you to promise me not to tell Sophie.
19:15I can't tell Sophie.
19:16You can't tell Sophie?
19:17Have we seen all water?
19:18Does Sophie anything?
19:19I can't tell Sophie.
19:19No, no, no, no.
19:49Hi. Hi, is that, um, is that Justine?
19:53Hi, Justine. Um, it's, it's Hannah from the Environment Agency.
20:00Listen, it's about the, um, the pollution event at Hawke-Rise.
20:04Um, it came through the system at a duration of 1.34 hours,
20:09and, and I'm here now, and it's, it's, it's still going.
20:15Yeah, yeah, I'm, uh, yeah, I'm, I'm here now, yeah.
20:19The CSO's still discharging untreated sewage.
20:23I mean, there's, there's a section of the river that is covered over with dried sewage.
20:28I mean, there's, there's dead fish.
20:30You can, you can see them from the footpath.
20:31I mean, you're going to get more complaints.
20:34You need to sort this.
20:40Can you prepare and cook a simple meal unaided?
20:46Yeah, but not when I'm having an attack.
20:49Then I can't do anything.
20:51I can't, I can't move.
20:52Can you eat and drink unaided?
20:55Yeah, but, again, not when I'm having an attack.
20:59Um, and I've been getting the attacks, well, every few days for the past six months.
21:04But if, if you're not having one of your attacks, can you eat and drink unaided?
21:08Yeah, but...
21:09Yes or no is fine.
21:11Yes.
21:14Can you dress and undress unaided?
21:20It's the same answer.
21:22Moving on to the mobility section of this assessment.
21:25Can you plan and follow a journey unaided?
21:31Yeah, but not when I'm having an attack.
21:33Stand and move for 200 metres.
21:37Not when I'm having an attack.
21:39Well, you know, can you move around, walk for 200 metres?
21:43Of course I can, but not when I'm having an attack.
21:45Okay.
21:46Thank you, Mr Santa.
21:47Your total score for the daily living part of the assessment is zero points.
21:52Your total score for the mobility section is zero points.
21:56When you're not having an attack, you're able to do all the tasks I asked you about.
22:00That's the thing with my condition is that sometimes I can do these things and other times I can't.
22:06And when I can't, I can't, I can't do anything.
22:09I can't award you a personal independence payment.
22:11I don't know what to do.
22:12If you need further guidance about how to appeal, you can use the web chat to get some help.
22:18If you cannot access the web chat, you can contact the benefits appeal helpline on 0300...
22:34Hannah?
22:35Do you have a second?
22:39Can I have a word?
22:40Of course.
22:41Yeah? OK. So I just got off the phone to Justine Wright-Phillips
22:45at the water company. Yeah.
22:47Yeah, she said you called her. Yeah, I... Yeah, I did.
22:52OK, she said you called her from the site.
22:55Well, I saw that it had been logged on the system for the fifth time
22:58and people kept calling up complaining
23:00and nobody was doing anything about it, so I...
23:02But we don't have the revenue to be investigating Category 3.
23:08It's... It's not for Category 3, Sophie.
23:11The river is dried over with excrement. You can see it from...
23:15Yeah, so that's what I wanted to talk to you about.
23:17So Justine says that the dispersal rate in that area is really high.
23:21Is it?
23:22Yeah, she says there's, like, a strong current and a high dispersal rate...
23:26The overflow pipe has been discharging for over 36 hours
23:29and it is still going. All right, that's...
23:31That is the water company's responsibility to report to us.
23:35Yes, you know this, OK?
23:39And Justine says that actually, really, the, um...
23:42Because of the high dispersal rate,
23:44that it should come down to a Category 4.
23:48Be a Category 4? Yes. Right. Mm-hm.
23:52So, no impact on the environment, no action needed?
23:57Yes. Mm-hm.
24:04Oh, you want me to change it on this system?
24:05Would you? Could you?
24:08Yeah? OK, thanks so much. Thank you. That's great.
24:11Lovely.
24:20So, you see how well we're doing?
24:22Yeah, of course.
24:23What, are you joking?
24:24I'm not joking.
24:25You know SROIC?
24:28No, what's that?
24:30Strategic Review of Incident Charges, yeah?
24:32It's like what we charge the clients for permits and that.
24:35So, we don't have clients, Cheryl. No.
24:37We're an environment agency.
24:39OK, yes, sorry. Yes.
24:40We don't have clients, but...
24:42So, James has put the prices up, yeah?
24:45And I'm talking, like, up, up.
24:47Big time.
24:49Well, he's charging the water companies more.
24:51Yep.
24:52Well, they must...
24:53Surely they've gone down to the government, like,
24:55lobbying them, going mad.
24:56And the charges are taken down.
24:58No.
24:58Not a peep.
25:00Not a...
25:00Not a peep.
25:01They're just paying it.
25:04We've basically had such a high revenue spike, yeah,
25:08that we are on our way to becoming a client-funded regulator.
25:15Sorry, wait, hold on one minute. This is going a bit...
25:17So, you're saying that the water companies
25:21are funding the Environment Agency?
25:24Wow. Yep.
25:24That's what you're... Really, you see the issues there.
25:27You can't be serious.
25:29A client-funded regulator.
25:34Amazing, isn't it?
25:34How can that even be a thing?
25:37It's a thing.
25:38Well, hold on, because literally, the other day,
25:41Sir James said that you get the regulation that you pay for.
25:44Yeah. Yeah.
25:45That we haven't got the money to do the investigations
25:48that we used to do. We're not...
25:49Nobody's paying for them.
25:51OK. That's your area, isn't it?
25:53I mean, all I know is that we have got more cash
25:58than we've ever had before.
26:00Just making conversation.
26:05I've got the job.
26:06Postman?
26:07Mm-hmm.
26:08No?
26:08Yeah.
26:08Did you?
26:09Yeah.
26:09Oh, you're fun.
26:10Yeah, really good timing.
26:14Uh-huh.
26:15Because I did two pregnancy tests this morning.
26:20What?
26:20And, yeah, I'm pregnant.
26:22What?
26:23Yeah.
26:24Pregnant.
26:25No.
26:25Yeah.
26:26Yeah.
26:27I sort of just had a funny feeling and then, yeah, did one
26:31test, two lines, and then I did another test and it said two
26:35lines as well, and I was like, fuck.
26:48I'm Susan Davey, I am the CEO of Southwest Water.
26:53Basically, the wet weather events.
26:55Overflow.
26:56Put a strain on our Victorian networks.
26:58Victorian sewage.
26:59And, unfortunately, we have a Victorian sewage system,
27:03which we have inherited, and that means things do go wrong.
27:08Did you say Victorian sewage network?
27:1012%.
27:1112?
27:1212%?
27:13What's 12%?
27:1412% of the sewage system is Victorian.
27:17What do they tell you?
27:19They knew that the whole of the system was Victorian, so that
27:22meant that the investment would be so high that it'd be
27:26impossible to actually fix it all.
27:29Bollocks.
27:29Shall I tell you what stopped it?
27:32When privatisation came in, they just stopped spending.
27:35After the war, they kept upgrading.
27:37Then after privatisation came in, they just stopped.
27:41Not just Thames, all of them.
27:456% new plants is privatisation.
27:486%?
27:496%.
27:49Is that all?
27:50You know, it'd be good if we could maybe come and visit one of
27:53the works.
27:54I don't know about that.
27:55Well, I'd have to see, lads, honestly, because even just
27:58doing this, I feel a bit nervous.
28:01Fucking London Stadium.
28:02That's not a proper stadium.
28:04Fucking massive.
28:05Upton Park.
28:05Now, that was a proper stadium, mate.
28:07London Stadium's too big.
28:09You fucking binoculars.
28:10Do you know what I mean?
28:10Yeah.
28:11Sorry, Pete.
28:12Did you want to see an EDM?
28:13Oh, yes, yes.
28:14That's right.
28:15I remembered.
28:15So this is an event duration monitor.
28:19Now, we fitted one of these on every sewage pipe in England.
28:23But in 2012, right, the coalition government, they ordered all the water companies to record
28:29how much time they spend dumping raw sewage.
28:32These little units, they measure how much poo goes into the river by hours.
28:37Management have been dragging their feet for eight years now.
28:40But we're finally getting most of it in now.
28:43And the agency, they've got to publish their numbers.
28:46They have to, by law.
28:47I mean, they're not going to like it, but tough shit.
28:52EDMs.
28:52Yes.
28:55So, we are finalizing plans for the statutory publication of the EDM numbers.
29:06As you know, there have been some technical delays, but it looks like they're almost ready.
29:15And they're going to come as a bit of a shock.
29:19The data's going to show that the water companies discharged raw sewage 400,000 times in 2020.
29:29That's 1,100 times a day for a total of 3.1 million hours.
29:40It's a bit of a shocker.
29:42Can I just say that, um, since operator self-monitoring,
29:47we've had to rely on the water companies to report back to us.
29:51Yeah, I think that the key here is that this doesn't get framed as a failure of regulation.
29:56That is, that is, that would be quite wrong.
30:00And, uh, and I think managing comms on this is going to be key.
30:03And we are working actively with the water companies to, uh, to, to, to bear down on the problem.
30:11Yeah.
30:11And, uh...
30:12But that's 1,100 criminal offences a day.
30:16Well, that's actually, that's debatable because that depends on the terms of the permits
30:20and the circumstances around each spill.
30:23Yeah.
30:23And we know the legislation permits discharging after heavy rainfall and so...
30:28No, no, no, it doesn't.
30:30Sorry, Hannah.
30:31The law doesn't say that you can just dump sewage after heavy rain.
30:35It says that in all normal, climatic and seasonal circumstances,
30:39the water companies have to treat the sewage, not just dump it.
30:43But it's not the agency's job to adjudicate legal matters.
30:47I mean, this is actually a matter for the courts.
30:50No, no, no, this is, this is our job.
30:52It's our job to enforce the law.
30:55Yeah.
30:56That's what we're here to do.
31:03Can you, um, you...
31:04Did you want to...?
31:05No, no, you, you finish off here, Sophie.
31:11So we've identified the problem and now we work on the problem.
31:14Which is reframing and owning the narrative.
31:16Yeah, we, we, we don't want this to get misconstrued as some sort of failure on our part
31:20because it just isn't.
31:20Thanks, that's really nice.
31:21Yeah, thanks.
31:22Thanks so much.
31:23Thanks.
31:24Cool.
31:26Lovely.
31:26Thanks, guys.
31:27Thanks so much.
31:28By, by the way, um...
31:31So...
31:32I've heard you're going to give evidence in Parliament.
31:34Yes.
31:35Yes.
31:35Amazing.
31:36Yeah, I think he's bad.
31:39What does that mean, thinking about it?
31:40He's, er...
31:41He's nervous.
31:42No, I'm not nervous.
31:43He's nervous.
31:44No, it's not that I'm nervous.
31:46I want to do it.
31:47Yeah.
31:47It's just...
31:48It's difficult.
31:48Pete.
31:49Don't, don't worry about it.
31:50I'll...
31:50Yeah.
31:51We're counting on you.
31:52We are really counting on you.
31:53And you can explain it in this scientific way.
31:55You're going to come across brilliantly.
31:57They're going to believe you, mate.
31:58Well, it...
32:00It's, it's not really as simple as that, I mean...
32:02The boys from Mogden called me earlier, right?
32:04Yeah.
32:05And they told me that they dumped two billion litres of sewage in the Thames over two days.
32:11Environment Agency haven't got a Scooby.
32:13Did they send you the data?
32:14I've got the data, yeah.
32:15Can you send that to us?
32:16I will send it to you.
32:18We're not going to let you down.
32:19It makes sense.
32:20Please, you can do this.
32:21Come on, Pete.
32:22Give me five to you.
32:22That's all right, no.
32:23You're a legend, mate.
32:24Come on.
32:35We now have the lowest number of serious pollution incidents from water companies that we have yet recorded.
32:51I mean...
32:53I mean, we now have the lowest number of serious pollution incidents from water companies that we have yet recorded.
33:09I'm tried.
33:28We've had the lowest number of serious muss, right?
33:28I've got the lowest number of serious issues.
33:28I'm an environment officer at the agency.
33:31I investigate sewage pollution.
33:36When I first joined, it wasn't a job to get rich on.
33:43I could see I was making a difference.
33:47Corporations want to make money.
33:49We make sure that they don't poison the rivers doing it.
33:52We could investigate, prosecute, whatever it took.
33:58But then they told the companies that they could regulate themselves.
34:03That's appraiser, self-monitoring.
34:06Exactly.
34:07Then came the Cameron cuts, then the trust cuts.
34:12They laid off investigators, slashed prosecutions.
34:16I mean, they even took our cars off of us so we couldn't visit pollution sites.
34:19So all these cuts meant you couldn't do your job properly?
34:23That's not it.
34:26In 2021, Sir James hiked the prices the water companies paid for their permits.
34:33It was called charge-funded regulation.
34:36We get $96 million from the government.
34:39We are now pulling in $411 million from charges.
34:44All these cuts, they're just a smokescreen.
34:48We're swimming in cash.
34:52I am doing this because I know that it is wrong.
34:55And it has ruined my whole working life.
35:02Good luck.
35:16Right.
35:20Fucking hell.
35:22What should we do?
35:23Well, first we read them, and then I think we should call some journalists.
35:30The Environment Agency has refused to comment on whether agency directors currently hold shares in UK water companies.
35:39The agency claimed it would break data protection laws if it disclosed the information.
35:44Environment Agency chiefs secretly held a series of private dinners with water company bosses at the Royal Automobile Club in
35:52central London.
35:53Documents released under the Freedom of Information Act showed the meetings were held to discuss how to quell public anger
36:00over sewage space.
36:01As the sewage scandal deepens, Environment Agency CEO Sir James Bevan has been called to give evidence to a parliamentary
36:08committee.
36:09Well, we need to talk about what we say in public and the responsibilities we have.
36:15You have a duty not to openly criticise or discredit the organisation in the media or on social media.
36:26Or to disclose confidential information to anyone not authorised to receive it!
36:34If your comments, inside or outside work, impact on the agency's reputation by making derogatory comments about the organisation, or
36:43your managers,
36:44or you make comments that bring the organisation into disrepute, you may be subject to disciplinary action.
36:53And in more serious cases, dismissal.
37:14I don't think I want to do this.
37:16You'll be fine.
37:17Need the toilet?
37:20I'm alright.
37:21I need a bloody toilet.
37:23Do you want a pie?
37:24What does that mean?
37:28Well, um, my garden is a, uh, an island which the Windrush, um, wraps around.
37:38I've watched it closely for 18 years, and I watched the water turn brown.
37:45I led a team of scientists using a machine learning analysis of two sewage treatment works run by Tensewater.
37:54One of those works, the Environment Agency said, over 10 years, that only two pollution incidents had been reported.
38:04Our machine learning analysis, uh, it, it showed hundreds of illegal spills.
38:12More than, uh, more than 300 lasted 24 hours, and some, uh, longer than 10 days, and some for a
38:24month.
38:25Have you shown this evidence to the Environment Agency?
38:28Uh, well, yeah, I've shown the evidence, uh, like, many times.
38:33Uh, what usually happens is that they, uh, they say that, uh, they show a sign of interest, but then
38:40nothing happens.
38:43Well, uh, we work very closely with Professor Hammond of, uh, Windrush Against Sewage Pollution.
38:50We have a regular and very fruitful dialogue with him.
38:56You've worked closely with Professor Hammond?
38:58Uh, he and Ashley Smith sent you at least 13 emails detailing evidence of illegal sewage dumping.
39:08He published five evidence reports documenting water company criminality, all of which were sent to you or your senior colleagues.
39:17They invited you to come and look at the river in 2019, and the following year sent you an email
39:26with the heading,
39:27Environment Agency Complicit in Lawbreaking.
39:36They never heard back.
39:39You never once replied in five years.
39:43How did you manage to work so closely, Professor Hammond, when you never once spoke to him?
39:48At the Thames Water Modern Treatment Works, there was a spill of 240 Olympic swimming pools of sewage in a
40:00single day.
40:01The existing monitoring failed to pick that up.
40:05Now, why was that?
40:06There will always be times when, uh, something happens, usually accidentally.
40:12But if we find that a water company has breached its permit, we will take appropriate action.
40:20Does appropriate action include prosecuting water company executives?
40:25Prosecution is a very high bar, but, uh...
40:29Where we think that's appropriate, we wouldn't hesitate.
40:33Did you prosecute in this case?
40:35No.
40:36Have you ever prosecuted any water company executives?
40:40No, but if we thought the evidence warranted it, we wouldn't hesitate.
40:48Last year, you told this committee that you became aware of sewage dumping in May 2021.
40:54Yes.
40:55But three weeks after that, you told the committee that the water companies were improving,
40:59and that more of them were getting four out of four stars.
41:05Why were you telling the committee that the water companies were doing a four-star job?
41:11Well, you've quoted everything I said.
41:16I think I stand by everything I said.
41:20I think you'll find them mutually consistent.
41:25The agency's job is to make sure the water companies obey the criminal law, but it doesn't do it,
41:33and the water companies do whatever they want.
41:35The alleged crimes of their directors are never prosecuted.
41:41They've built criminality into their business models because pollution is highly profitable and repeat offending has no consequences.
41:51Therefore, in light of the remarkable absence of any counter-corruption measures, we demand an investigation into the environment agency.
42:04The key test for me on regulation.
42:06Less regulation.
42:08Is it something that enables the builders, not the blockers?
42:11Cut guidance by 80%.
42:12We've also got to look at regulation.
42:15Regulations will go.
42:16And where it is needlessly holding back the investment.
42:19Reduce the amount and the burden of regulation.
42:22Rip up the bureaucracy that blocks investment.
42:24Northumbria and water recorded 30.1 spills per overflow over the course of 2023.
42:30280,000 hours and change in total.
42:36The chief executive, Heidi Mottram, received a bonus of £234,000 that year.
42:44Why did you take football tickets from the parent company?
42:49Well, I didn't.
42:50OK.
42:51C.K. Hutchins Holdings owns 75% of Chung Kong Infrastructure Holdings, the owner of Northumbrian Water.
42:57And you declared £2,000 in football tickets and hospitality.
43:01On that occasion, there was nobody from a water company that was involved in offering those tickets.
43:08There was nobody from a water company at that event.
43:10Well, I wouldn't have known that.
43:12They weren't present.
43:13Why didn't you know?
43:13You should have known that.
43:14You said that these sort of people should potentially be in the dock if they have been found to break
43:19the rules.
43:20You took £2,000 in tickets and hospitality for a football match from bosses linked to that company that polluted
43:26that water.
43:28Why should people in Northumbria think that you're fit for your dock?
43:31Well, I certainly wouldn't have known that.
43:32And judge me by what I do.
43:33Why not?
43:33Judge me by what I do.
43:34No, no, that is what you did.
43:48Environment Minister Steve Reid is pursuing legal action against a group of anglers trying to restore the ecosystem of their
43:56local river.
43:57On the grounds that cleaning up individual rivers is administratively unworkable.
44:04Concerns have been raised about the number of leading labour figures with links to lobbying firms working for water companies.
44:10Among the invited guests at the government's international investment summit was Macquarie Bank.
44:16Described as the vampire kangaroo by critics, Macquarie presided over the near collapse of Thames Water,
44:23leaving it £10 billion in debt after having illegally dumped billions of litres of raw sewage.
44:47Reuben?
44:51Reuben?
44:55I know I can't be left alone with her.
45:06That the water privatisation, I believe, will go very successfully indeed.
45:12That will go very successfully indeed.
45:15And perhaps there will be a better wait and see.
45:18So that we can pontificate in the light of the fact.
45:20How did it come to this?
45:25How did it happen that England is the only place in the whole world whose water system is wholly privatised?
45:39That our seas and our rivers are full of shite?
45:45I just feel like we're trying to bring down England's biggest organised crime syndicate.
45:53I mean, they're not the mafia, these water companies.
45:57They're not a drugs cartel, but they do dump sewage a thousand times a day.
46:04And almost all of those are illegal.
46:06And the cash they've accumulated, £145 billion since privatisation.
46:15And they've got that because they seem to have built criminality into their business models.
46:22So they are like an organised crime syndicate.
46:28And the CEOs and the owners are like crime bosses.
46:33I mean, they don't murder people, obviously.
46:36They're not assassins.
46:40But me and Peter are sitting here waiting for these crime lords to put things right.
46:49And if we leave them to their own devices, they never will.
46:56They never will.
46:59We've put the things that we own and care about together,
47:05we've put them into the hands of financial speculators,
47:08whose job it is, is just to make money.
47:12We need to put the people who care in charge.
47:17We've done a huge job.
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