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Dirty Business S01E03 (2026) [Full Movie] [Full Series]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.
00:10Drowning.
00:13Or 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.
00:24That's you.
00:38Please!
00:42Please!
00:50No prints.
00:53Nothing taken or disturbed?
00:57No.
00:59Unfortunately, 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 it 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?
01:24No.
01:26Or they put everything back in its place, which is what you would do if you were installing a listening
01:31device.
01:32I've applied for warrants to do exactly that.
01:34You're a copper?
01:34Serious Crime Squad. Covert Surveillance Unit. Counter-corruption.
01:38I'm innocent.
01:41Well, I mean, as you know, we've done a couple of sweeps. Nothing.
01:50No, me neither.
01:52So, um, there's not much more we can do.
01:57Okay.
01:57I mean, I don't know.
02:35Come on.
02:59You've worked in surveillance, haven't you, for years,
03:01so you're telling me you can't actually see
03:04if 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
03:15runs a keylogger in the background,
03:16which means they can record every key you press,
03:18every mouse click, they can see the emails you write,
03:21your messages, your passwords, et cetera, everything.
03:23But 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,
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.
03:47What 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, 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 Charlie's Hawaiian Cushions.
04:18Don't say that in front of Joe.
04:20Fuck, I'm not going to do that, I don't know.
04:21I want to hang on to my balls.
04:24You know, the other day when this happened,
04:26the first thing I did was pick up the phone to you.
04:31Yeah, no, I did see it, yeah.
04:33You probably saw it.
04:34I hung up.
04:36Just 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.
05:07Sir James Bevan Environment Agency.
05:10Dear Sir James, I'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, I wrote to you to raise concerns
05:19about a serious integrity issue involving the agency.
05:23Dear Sir James, 34 days have now passed
05:26since I sent you evidence.
05:27I've given up expecting a reply from you.
05:32Dear Ashley...
05:33I am in the receipt of your email to Sir James.
05:40Sir James, would 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 attend meetings at this kind of level.
06:02I'd hoped he'd be here.
06:04He's time for...
06:06Yeah.
06:06He's aware of your work.
06:07Well, we're trying to find out
06:09what you're going to do about the illegal
06:12sewage overflow at Borton.
06:14The combined storm overflow.
06:15Yeah.
06:16The combined storm overflow at Burton has shown no detectable
06:19effects on the water quality.
06:21The water quality is stable and not deteriorating.
06:24I mean, our data shows very clearly that we have the best quality water
06:27since 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,
06:36it makes the Thames look like a Swiss mountain stream.
06:40The water is brown in places, but that's a natural phenomenon.
06:45It's caused by geological faults.
06:46So, 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.
06:55No one remembers the good old days before the geological fault.
06:58In the last 12 months since we installed sensors,
07:01there's been no evidence of pollution.
07:03Well, that's because you've installed the monitors upstream
07:05from the sewage pipes.
07:06Now, is that incompetence or an attempt to cover up a scandal?
07:10No, no.
07:10The agency would never position a monitor
07:12to achieve a particular reading.
07:14We are working extremely hard to transform the environment.
07:16We've improved and protected something like,
07:18I think it's 15,000 kilometers of river.
07:22It's right, but you've had 92 complaints
07:25from the general public about sewage pollution.
07:27That's just the wind rush.
07:29I've actually got the breakdown here.
07:32Yeah, yeah.
07:33Now, in 36 of those cases, there was no offense,
07:39and in 39, there was insufficient evidence,
07:44and in 6, we were unable to identify the offender.
07:48Well, what 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,
07:58but we keep giving you the evidence.
08:00All we ever do is give you the evidence,
08:02and all we get back is it's under investigation.
08:04And then nothing, nothing, nothing ever happens.
08:09In exceptional circumstances, for example,
08:11after heavy rain,
08:13the sewage systems are allowed to overflow.
08:15No, no, no, no.
08:17You see, that's not the law.
08:18The law is that in all normal climatic conditions,
08:21including heavy rainfall,
08:24the water companies have 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 with respect.
08:32It's the law.
08:33Sorry, can I?
08:35Sorry.
08:37Thames is their own data.
08:40It shows they stopped treating sewage
08:43at North Leach for more than three months.
08:46Now, they told us that their sensors have broken down,
08:50but we think they're lying.
08:54They're lying.
08:55So why would they do that?
08:57Why would they lie to you?
09:18We're protecting regulators.
09:23Sorry?
09:25The regulation isn't real.
09:27The government wants us to look like a regulator,
09:29but they won't let us do our job.
09:32OK.
09:34When Cameron and Truss gutted the agency,
09:37we went from regulating the industry
09:38to 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
09:49in modern history
09:50that at the end of its parliamentary term
09:53has less regulation in place
09:54than there was at the beginning.
09:56We've now identified those 3,000 regulations
09:59that we're going to scrap.
10:00Let's reduce the amount
10:01and the burden of regulation
10:03strangled by retaining back
10:04the health and safety model.
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, it'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 can bring
10:47our car usage down
10:48by 70%.
10:50Yeah.
10:52It's...
10:53Yeah.
10:53So, from 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.
11:05Sorry.
11:06Just like to clarify
11:08what you're going to get
11:10rid of our cars.
11:12So, it's about reducing
11:14the agency's carbon 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 desk-based regulation
11:28is really,
11:29it's really helping us
11:30move the needle
11:31on climate change.
11:35But the remaining inspections...
11:39Yeah.
11:40How do we get to 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 forward
11:49to 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.
11:57Debbie'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.
12:05Oh, coffee.
12:06How'd 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 vertical 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,
12:39vomiting,
12:41tinnitus.
12:43It's a pretty neat fit
12:44with your presentation.
12:48They were dumping sewage
12:50in the water
12:52the last time
12:53before I got sick.
12:54Right.
12:55You know that
12:56from the surface
12:57against sewage, yeah?
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.
13:07They're common in surfers.
13:08Yeah, every surfer I know.
13:13This is a chronic condition.
13:16I'm afraid there's no cure.
13:27The cause is still killing me.
13:34The cause is well-
14:08So, by ending on-site inspections into categories 3 and 4,
14:13no or low-impact pollution events, and doubling down on the more serious Category 1 and 2 incidents,
14:22we think we can turn ourselves into a more effective fighting unit.
14:26Yeah. So, from today, we are ending on-site inspections for CATs 3 and 4.
14:32Any questions?
14:34Well, yeah.
14:37A Category 3 incident can be 2 kilometres of sewage.
14:42Hmm. We 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 a serious incident.
15:01And so, if the water companies are only reporting 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,
15:22or to silently pass them,
15:25and to not report them as pollution incidents.
15:28Is that clear?
15:33Yeah.
15:34Yeah.
15:34Thanks, everyone.
15:35You're on with your day?
15:36Yeah.
15:40What?
15:43Just...
15:47We had to fuck.
15:49Fucking wonkers.
15:50How are you going to get to fucking work?
15:52Fuck nice.
15:55Horseback.
16:03What time did he call you?
16:05I passed ten last night.
16:08Said he couldn't miss it.
16:20Oh, my God, look at that.
16:27Get some shots, and we'll call the agency on the way back.
16:35We'll call it the agency on the way back.
16:37We'll call it the agency on the way back.
16:42I can't get it.
16:50I don't know.
17:19I don't know.
17:45I don't know.
17:51Debbie.
17:52Are you driving into work tomorrow?
17:55Yeah, 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 Hawkrise, so I'm going to go and take a look.
18:11Okay.
18:12A bit of freelance investigation.
18:14A bit of freelance.
18:15And also, it needs to be off the books.
18:17And I need you to promise me not to tell Sophie.
18:21I couldn't tell Sophie.
18:22You couldn't tell Sophie.
18:23I couldn't tell Sophie.
18:25I couldn't tell Sophie.
18:53Hi.
18:54Hi.
18:55Is that Justine?
18:57Hi, Justine.
18:59It's Hannah from the Environment Agency.
19:03Listen, it's about the pollution event at Hawkrise.
19:09It came through the system at a duration of 1.34 hours.
19:13And I'm here now.
19:14And it's still going.
19:19Yeah, yeah, I'm here now, yeah.
19:22The CSO's still discharging untreated sewage.
19:26I mean, there's a section of the river that is covered over with dried sewage.
19:31I mean, these dead fish, you can see them from the footpath.
19:34I mean, you're going to get more complaints.
19:36You need to sort this.
19:42Can you prepare and cook a simple meal unaided?
19:47Yeah, but not when I'm having an attack.
19:51Then I can't do anything.
19:52I can't move.
19:54Can you eat and drink unaided?
19:56Yeah, but again, not when I'm having an attack.
20:01I've been getting the attacks every few days for the past six months.
20:05But 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.
20:25Can you plan and follow a journey unaided?
20:30Yeah, but not when I'm having an attack.
20:33Stand and move for 200 metres.
20:37Not when I'm having an attack.
20:39Well, you know, can you move around, walk for 200 metres?
20:42Of course I can, but not when I'm having an attack.
20:44OK.
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.
20:54When you're not having an attack, you're able to do all the tasks I asked you about.
20:58I can't.
20:59That'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 do anything.
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...
21:31Hannah.
21:32Sorry.
21:32Sorry.
21:33I didn't mean to scare you.
21:34Do you have a second?
21:36Can I have a word?
21:36Of course.
21:37Yeah?
21:38OK.
21:38So I just got off the phone to Justine Wright Phillips at the water company.
21:42Yeah?
21:43Yeah.
21:43Yeah.
21:43She said you called her.
21:45Yeah.
21:46I...
21:46Yeah.
21:46I did.
21:48OK.
21:48She 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.
21:57So I...
21:58We don't have the revenue to be investigating Category 3.
22:03It's not a Category 3, Sophie.
22:06The river is dried over with excrement.
22:08You can see it from...
22:11Yeah.
22:12However, Justine says that the dispersal rate in that area is really high.
22:16Is it?
22:17I...
22:17Yeah.
22:17She says there's like a strong current and a high dispersal rate of the untreated surge.
22:20The overflow pipe has been discharging for over 36 hours and it is still going.
22:24All right.
22:24The untreated...
22:25That is the water company's responsibility to report to us.
22:29You know this.
22:32OK?
22:32OK.
22:32And Justine says that actually really the...
22:35Because of the high dispersal rate that it should come down to a Category 4.
22:41Be a Category 4?
22:43Yes.
22:43Right.
22:43Mm-hmm.
22:45So no impact on the environment.
22:48No 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?
23:00OK.
23:01Thanks 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?
23:15I'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.
23:28No.
23:28We're an environment agency.
23:30Yes, sorry.
23:30Yes.
23:31We don't have clients.
23:31But, 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 mad.
23:46Yeah, getting the charges taken down.
23:48No.
23:48Not a peep.
23:49Not a...
23:50Not a peep.
23:51They're just paying it.
23:53We've basically had such a high revenue spike, yeah?
23:57But 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.
24:12Wow.
24:13That's what you're...
24:14What's happening?
24:14What?
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, 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.
24:37We're not...
24:37Nobody's paying for them.
24:38Okay.
24:38That's your area, isn't it?
24:40I mean...
24:41All 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!
24:54Did you?
24:55Yeah.
24:56Oh, God!
24:57Yeah, really good timing.
25:00Uh-huh.
25:01Because I did two pregnancy tests this morning.
25:06What?
25:06And...
25:07Yeah, I'm pregnant.
25:08What?
25:09Yeah.
25:10Pregnant.
25:10No.
25:11Yeah.
25:13I sort of just had a funny feeling and then...
25:15Yeah, did one test.
25:18Two lines.
25:19And then I did another test and it said two lines as well.
25:21And I was like...
25:23Fuck.
25:33I'm Susan Davey.
25:35I am the CEO of Southwest Water.
25:37Basically the wet weather events...
25:39Overflow...
25:40Put a strain on our Victorian networks.
25:42And, unfortunately, we have a Victorian sewage system which we have inherited and that means things do go wrong.
25:51Did you say Victorian sewage network?
25:53Twelve percent.
25:55Twelve...
25:55Twelve percent?
25:56What's twelve percent?
25:58Twelve percent of the sewage system is Victorian.
26:00What do they tell you?
26:02That the whole of the system was Victorian so that meant that the investment would be so high that it'd
26:09be impossible to actually fix it all.
26:11Bollocks.
26:12Shall I tell you what stopped it?
26:15When privatisation came in, they just stopped spending.
26:17After the war, they kept upgrading.
26:19Then after privatisation came in, they just stopped.
26:24Not just Thames, all of them.
26:26Six percent new plants is privatisation.
26:29Six percent?
26:30Six percent.
26:31Is that all?
26:31You 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...
26:37I'd 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, now that was a proper stadium, mate.
26:48London Stadium's too big, you fucking binoculars, you know what I mean?
26:51Yeah.
26:52Sorry, Pete, did you want to see an EDM?
26:54Oh, yes, yes, that's fine.
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, right, the coalition government, they ordered all the water companies to record how much time they spend
27:10dumping 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.
27:20But we're finally getting most of it in now.
27:22And the agency, they've got to publish their 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, but it looks like they're almost ready.
27:52And they're going to come as a bit of a shock.
27:57The data is going to show that the water companies discharged raw sewage 400,000 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 report back
28:26to 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.
28:46Yeah.
28:46But that's 1,100 criminal offences a day.
28:50Well, that's actually debatable because that depends on the terms of the permits and the circumstances around each spill.
28:57Yeah.
28:58And 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, the water companies have to treat the sewage, not just
29:16dump 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...
29:36Did you want to...
29:37No, no.
29:38You 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.
29:48We don't want this to get misconstrued as some sort of failure on our part because it just isn't.
29:52Thanks.
29:53Yeah.
29:53Thanks so much.
29:55Thanks.
29:56Cool.
29:57Lovely.
29:57Thanks, guys.
29:58Thanks so much.
29:59By the way, um...
30:02So...
30:03I'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, er...
30:11He's nervous.
30:13Not nervous.
30:14He's nervous.
30:14No, it's not that I'm nervous.
30:16I want to do it.
30:17It's just...
30:18It's difficult.
30:19Hey.
30:19Don't worry about it.
30:20I'll...
30:21Yeah.
30:21We're counting on you.
30:22We are really counting on you.
30:23And you can explain it in a 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, I mean...
30:32The boys from Ogden called me earlier, right?
30:34Mm-hmm.
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.
30:48It makes sense.
30:48Please.
30:49You can do this.
30:50Come on, Pete.
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.
31:11I mean...
31:12More water companies are now at the highest level of performance.
31:16What we call four-star performance.
31:19I mean, we 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.
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.
32:13We make sure that they don't poison the rivers doing it.
32:17We could investigate, prosecute, whatever it took.
32:22But then they told the companies that they could regulate themselves.
32:27Let's upraise the self-monitoring.
32:29Exactly.
32:31Then came the Cameron Cuts, then the Trust Cuts.
32:35They laid off investigators, slashed prosecutions.
32:39I mean, they even took our cars off of us so we couldn't visit pollution sites.
32:42So all these cuts meant you couldn't do your job properly?
32:46That's not it.
32:49In 2021, Sir James hiked the prices the water companies paid for their permits.
32:55It was called charge-funded regulation.
32:58We get 96 million from the government.
33:01We are now pulling in 411 million from charges.
33:06All these cuts, they're just a smokescreen.
33:10We're swimming in cash.
33:13I am doing this because I know that it is wrong.
33:16And it has ruined my whole working life.
33:23Good luck.
33:24Good luck.
33:36Right.
33:40Fucking hell.
33:42What should we do?
33:43Well, first we read them.
33:46And then I think we should call some journalists.
33:50The Environment Agency has refused to comment on whether agency directors currently hold shares in UK water companies.
33:58The agency claimed it would break data protection laws if it disclosed the information.
34:03Environment Agency chiefs secretly held a series of private dinners with water company bosses at the Royal Automobile Club in
34:11central London.
34:12Documents released under the Freedom of Information Act showed the meetings were held to discuss how to quell public anger
34:18over sewage.
34:19As the sewage scandal deepens, Environment Agency CEO Sir James Bevan has been called to give evidence to a parliamentary
34:26committee.
34:27Well, we need to talk about what we say in public and the responsibilities we have.
34:33You have a duty not to openly criticise or discredit the organisation in the media or on social media.
34:43Or to disclose confidential information to anyone not authorised to receive it.
34:51If your comments, inside or outside work, impact on the agency's reputation by making derogatory comments about the organisation, or
34:59your managers,
35:00or you make comments that bring the organisation into disrepute,
35:04you may be subject to disciplinary action.
35:08And in more serious cases, dismissal.
35:19Have a good fight, mate.
35:20You're welcome.
35:21I've made a stretch of silence,
35:23We do have to watch artworks all along with the fireman.
35:26They're set over to last, over to last ten years.
35:29I don't think I want to do this.
35:30You'll be fine.
35:32Need the toilet?
35:34I'm alright.
35:35I'm okay.
35:36I need a bloody toilet.
35:37Do you want a pie?
35:39What does that mean?
35:43Well, umm...
35:44My garden is...
35:47an island...
35:48which 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 run by Tense Water.
36:07One of those works, the Environment Agency,
36:10said that over 10 years,
36:13only two pollution incidents had been reported.
36:16Our machine learning analysis,
36:21it showed hundreds of illegal spills.
36:26More than 300 lasted 24 hours,
36:30and some longer than 10 days,
36:34and some for a month.
36:37Have you shown this evidence to the Environment Agency?
36:40Well, we are. I've shown the evidence many times.
36:43What usually happens is that they...
36:47they say that they show a sign of interest,
36:50but then nothing happens.
36:54We work very closely with Professor Hammond
36:58of Windrush Against Sewage Pollution.
37:01We have a regular and very fruitful dialogue with him.
37:05You've worked closely with Professor Hammond.
37:09He and Ashley Smith sent you at least 13 emails
37:14detailing evidence of illegal sewage dumping.
37:17He published five evidence reports
37:20documenting water company criminality,
37:23all of which were sent to you or your senior colleagues.
37:26They invited you to come and look at the river in 2019,
37:31and the following year sent you an email with the heading
37:35Environment Agency Complicit in Lawbreaking.
37:44They never heard back.
37:46You never once replied in five years.
37:51How did you manage to work so closely with Professor Hammond
37:54when you never once spoke to him?
37:56At the Thames Water Mogdon Treatment Works,
37:59there was a spill
38:02of 240 Olympic swimming pools of sewage
38:06in a single day.
38:08The existing monitoring failed to pick that up.
38:11Now, why was that?
38:12There will always be times
38:15when something happens,
38:17usually accidentally.
38:19But if we find that a water company
38:22has breached its permit,
38:24we will take appropriate action.
38:26Does appropriate action include
38:28prosecuting water company executives?
38:30Prosecution is a very high bar,
38:32but where we think that's appropriate,
38:37we wouldn't hesitate.
38:38Did you prosecute in this case?
38:40No.
38:41Have you ever prosecuted
38:43any water company executives?
38:45No, but if we thought the evidence warranted it,
38:50we wouldn't hesitate.
38:53Last year, you told this committee
38:54that you became aware of sewage thumping
38:56in May 2021.
38:58Yes.
38:59But three weeks after that,
39:01you told the committee that
39:02the water companies were improving
39:03and that more of them were getting
39:06four out of four stars.
39:08Why were you telling the committee that
39:10the water companies were doing
39:12a four-star job?
39:15Well, you've quoted everything I said.
39:20I think I stand by everything I said.
39:23I think you'll find them mutually consistent.
39:28The agency's job is to make sure
39:31water companies obey the criminal law,
39:34but it doesn't do it,
39:35and the water companies do whatever they want.
39:38The alleged crimes of their directors
39:40are never prosecuted.
39:44They've built criminality into their business models
39:47because pollution is highly profitable
39:49and repeat offending has no consequences.
39:53Therefore,
39:54in the light of 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 on regulation.
40:07Less regulation.
40:08Is it something that enables the builders,
40:10not the blockers?
40:11Cut guidance by 80%.
40:13We've also got to look at regulation.
40:15Regulations will go,
40:17and where it is needlessly holding back
40:19the investment,
40:19reduce the amount and the burden of regulation,
40:22rip out the bureaucracy that blocks investment.
40:25Northumbria and Water recorded 30.1 spills
40:27per overflow over the course of 2023.
40:31280,000 hours and change in total.
40:35The chief executive, Heidi Mottram,
40:38received a bonus of £234,000 that year.
40:43Why did you take football tickets
40:45from the parent company?
40:48Well, I didn't.
40:49OK.
40:50C.K. Hutchins Holdings
40:51owns 75% of Chong Kong Infrastructure Holdings,
40:54the owner of Northumbria and Water,
40:56and you declared £2,000
40:58in football tickets and hospitality.
41:00On that occasion,
41:01there was nobody from a water company
41:03that was involved in offering those tickets.
41:06There was nobody from a water company
41:07at that event.
41:08I wouldn't have known that.
41:10They weren't present.
41:10Why didn't you know?
41:11You should have known that.
41:11You said that these sort of people
41:13should potentially be in the dock
41:14if they have been willing to break the rules.
41:17You took £2,000 in tickets and hospitality
41:20for a football match
41:21from bosses linked to that company
41:23that polluted that water.
41:24Why should people in Northumbria think that you're split from your job?
41:28Well, I certainly wouldn't have known that.
41:29And judge me by what I did.
41:30Why not?
41:30Judge me by what I did.
41:31No, that is what you did.
41:44Environment Minister Steve Reid is pursuing legal action against a group of anglers trying to restore the ecosystem of their
41:52local river,
41:53on the grounds that cleaning up individual rivers is administratively unworkable.
41:59Concerns are being raised about the number of leading labour figures with links to lobbying firms working for water companies.
42:05Among the invited guests at the government's international investment summit was Macquarie Bank.
42:10Described as the vampire kangaroo by critics, Macquarie presided over the near collapse of Thames water,
42:18leaving it £10 billion in debt after having illegally dumped billions of litres of raw sewage.
42:40Reuben?
42:44Reuben?
42:48I know I can't be left alone with her.
42:54Privatised water is a better deal than nationalised water.
42:58Come on, Blue.
42:59That the water privatisation, I believe, will go very successfully indeed.
43:05That will go very successfully indeed.
43:07And perhaps, therefore, we have better wait and see so that we can participate in the light of the facts.
43:13How did it come to this?
43:16How did it happen that England is the only place
43:22in the whole world
43:24whose water system
43:25is wholly privatised?
43:29That our seas and our rivers
43:32are full of shite?
43:35I just feel like we're trying to bring down
43:38England's biggest organised crime syndicate.
43:43I mean, they're not the mafia, these water companies.
43:47They're not a drugs cartel, but they do dump sewage a thousand times a day.
43:53And almost all of those are illegal.
43:56And the cash they've accumulated, 145 billion pounds since privatisation.
44:05And they've got that because they seem to have built criminality into their business models.
44:11So they are like an organised crime syndicate.
44:16And the CEOs and the owners are like crime bosses.
44:21I mean, they don't murder people, obviously.
44:24They're not assassins.
44:28But me and Peter are sitting here, waiting for these crime lords to put things right.
44:36And if we leave them to their own devices, they never will.
44:43They never will.
44:46We've put the things that we own and care about together,
44:51we've put them into the hands of financial speculators,
44:54whose job it is, is just to make money.
44:58We need to put the people who care in charge.
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