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Dirty Business S01E03 (2026) [Full Movie] [Trending Drama]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.
00:35I'm not sure.
00:38Leave me!
00:42Leave!
00:50No prints.
00:53Nothing taken or disturbed?
00:56No.
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.
01:36Covert surveillance unit.
01:37Counter corruption.
01:38I'm innocent.
01:41Well, I mean, um, as you know, we've done a couple of sweeps.
01:49Nothing.
01:50No, me neither.
01:52So, um...
01:53There's not much more we can do.
01:57Okay.
01:58...
02:02...
02:13I don't know.
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, etc., 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.
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.
03:47What 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.
04:35Just to...
04:36Yeah, I just think that what we need now is we need, um...
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, um...
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.
05:04June 2019.
05:07Sir James Bevan Environment Agency.
05:10Dear Sir James, I'm writing to your office as I'm sure you will know where to direct the question.
05:14October 2019.
05:16Dear Sir James, I wrote to you to raise concerns about a serious integrity issue involving the agency.
05:23Dear Sir James, 34 days have now passed since I sent you evidence.
05:27I've given up expecting a reply from you.
05:31Dear Ashley, I am in the receipt of your email to Sir James.
05:41Would you mind coming to our office?
05:42And 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 timeful.
06:06He's aware of your work.
06:07Well, we're trying to find out what you're going to do about the illegal sewage overflow at Borton.
06:14The combined storm overflow.
06:15The combined storm overflow at Borton has shown no detectable effects on the water quality.
06:21The water quality is stable and not deteriorating.
06:24I mean, our data shows very clearly that we have the best quality water since the Industrial Revolution.
06:31The water's turned brown.
06:32Yeah.
06:33It's turned so brown that when it joins the Thames at Newbridge, it makes the Thames look like a Swiss
06:38mountain stream.
06:40The water is brown in places, but that's a natural phenomenon.
06:44It's caused by a geological fault.
06:47A geological fault?
06:48Yeah.
06:49Yeah.
06:49Sorry, a geological fault is millions of years old.
06:53We remember when the water was clear.
06:55No one remembers the good old days before the geological fault.
06:58In the last 12 months since we installed sensors, there's been no evidence of pollution.
07:03Well, that's because you've installed the monitors upstream from the sewage pipes.
07:06Now, is that incompetence or an attempt to cover up a scandal?
07:10No, no.
07:10The agency would never position a monitor to achieve a particular reading.
07:14We are working extremely hard to transform the environment.
07:16We've improved and protected something like, I think it's 15,000 kilometers of river.
07:22It's right, but you've had 92 complaints from the general public about sewage pollution.
07:27Well, that's just the wind rush.
07:29I've actually got the breakdown here.
07:32Yeah, yeah.
07:35In 36 of those cases, there was no offence.
07:40And 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, but 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.
08:08In exceptional circumstances, for example, after heavy rain, the 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, including heavy rainfall, the water companies have to treat the sewage.
08:25They have to make it safe before they put it back into the river.
08:29The law is a grey area.
08:30No, no, it's not a grey area with respect.
08:33It's the law.
08:33Sorry, can I?
08:35Sorry.
08:37Thames is that their own data, it shows they stopped treating sewage at North Leach for more than three months.
08:46Now, they told us that their sensors have broken down, but we think they're lying.
08:54They're lying.
08:55So why would they do that?
08:57Why would they lie to you?
09:12Doors are cringing it.
09:18We're attempting regulators.
09:22Sorry?
09:25The regulation isn't real.
09:27The government wants us to look like a regulator, but they won't let us do our job.
09:32OK.
09:34When Cameron and Truss gutted the agency, we went from regulating the industry to doing its bidding.
09:41Do you think we could take your number?
09:43Look, just keep going.
09:47This is going to be the first government in modern history that at the end of its parliamentary term has
09:53less regulation in place than there was at the beginning.
09:56We've now identified those 3,000 regulations that we're going to scrap.
10:00Let's reduce the amount and the burden of regulation strangled by rotating back the health and safety model.
10:06Cut guidance by 80% and we reduce farm inspections by 34,000 every year.
10:12Regulations will gutter my ministers could introduce a regulation unless they abolished one at the same time.
10:17Massively reduce the number of rules, laws and regulations that frankly treat all of you like idiots.
10:27So really it's about stripping out as much unnecessary regulation as possible and taking responsibility for climate change and saying
10:37what more can we do to get us to net zero?
10:41As you know, this is a passion project for Sir James, who feels that we can bring our car usage
10:48down by 70%.
10:51Yeah.
10:52It's, yeah.
10:53So from next month, we're going to be taking the bold decision to cut back decisively on our car leases.
11:06Sorry, just like to clarify what you're going to get rid of our cars.
11:12So it's about reducing the agency's carbon footprint.
11:16Just getting that, yeah.
11:19Go ahead, Hannah.
11:19The cars that we drive to the inspections in.
11:23Right, yeah.
11:24So self-monitoring and a more desk-based regulation is really, it's really helping us move the needle on climate
11:32change.
11:35But the remaining inspections...
11:39Yeah.
11:40How do we get to those without a car?
11:43Yeah.
11:45It's a great question.
11:46It's a really great question.
11:47And we'll take that forward to the next discussion meeting.
11:51Thanks, Hannah.
11:53Yeah, lovely.
11:53Thanks, everyone.
11:54Not easy news to break, is it?
11:56Yeah, it's a surprise.
11:57Debbie's got something to say.
11:58I know, I know.
11:58I know.
11:59My car...
11:59Everyone's driving cars.
12:00We're the environment agency.
12:02Absolutely.
12:02What's wrong with the train?
12:03I'll keep mine, I think.
12:04So, yeah.
12:05Mmm, coffee.
12:06How do I get a coffee?
12:09Does anybody know what we're looking at?
12:12Anybody?
12:14Okay.
12:15Could you tell me what the reactants are?
12:17So, if you move your head even slightly, the vertigo gets more intense?
12:21Yeah.
12:22And the attack's happening maybe twice a week?
12:24About that, yeah.
12:29The good news is that you don't have cancer.
12:32We actually think it's Meniere's.
12:34It's a disease of the inner ear.
12:36The main symptom is acute vertigo episodes, vomiting, tinnitus.
12:43It's a pretty neat fit with your presentation.
12:48They were dumping sewage?
12:50In the water, the last time before I got sick.
12:54Right.
12:55You know that from...
12:57The Suffers Against Sewage Act?
12:58Okay.
13:01Might that be...
13:02The causes are unclear.
13:04It's post-viral.
13:05This often starts with an ear infection.
13:07You know, they're common in surfers.
13:08Yeah, every surfer I know.
13:13This is a chronic condition.
13:16I'm afraid there's no cure.
13:39Should we leave the table away?
13:40Excuse me.
13:42Just hold his back.
14:08So, by ending on-site inspections into categories three and four,
14:13no or low-impact pollution events,
14:16and doubling down on the more serious Category 1 and 2 incidents,
14:22we think we can turn ourselves into a more effective fighting unit.
14:26Yeah. So, from today, we are ending on-site inspections for Cats 3 and 4.
14:32Any questions?
14:34Well, yeah.
14:37A Category 3 incident can be two kilometres of sewage.
14:42Mm.
14:43We want you to not inspect, to not spend time on these incidents.
14:49Except that since the water companies have been self-reporting,
14:54they almost always only report Category 3s and 4s.
14:59So, they're not actually reporting serious incidents.
15:01And so, if the water companies are only reporting 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,
15:24and to not report them as pollution incidents.
15:28Is that clear?
15:33Yeah.
15:34Thanks, everyone.
15:35You're on with your day?
15:36Yeah.
15:47We had to fuck.
15:49Fucking wankers.
15:50How are you going to get to fucking work?
15:52Fuck nice.
15:55Horseback.
16:02What time did he call you?
16:05I passed ten last night.
16:08Said he couldn't miss it.
16:20Oh, my God.
16:21Look at that.
16:27Get some shots, and we'll call the agency on the way back.
16:43Get some shots, and we'll call the agency on the way back.
16:43Get some shots, and we'll call the agency on the way back.
16:45Get some shots, and we'll call the agency on the way back.
16:47Get some shots, and we'll call the agency on the way back.
16:48Get some shots, and we'll call the agency on the way back.
16:49Get some shots, and we'll call the agency on the way back.
16:49Get some shots, and we'll call the agency on the way back.
16:51Get some shots, and we'll call the agency on the way back.
16:51Get some shots, and we'll call the agency on the way back.
16:51Get some shots, and we'll call the agency on the way back.
16:53Get some shots, and we'll call the agency on the way back.
16:56Get some shots, and we'll call the agency on the way back.
17:00I don't know.
17:52Dabby, are you driving into work tomorrow?
17:54Oh yeah, obviously, how else would I get in?
17:56Well, can I borrow your car at lunchtime?
18:00What for?
18:02Someone keeps calling up and complaining about the same incident.
18:06It's near the bridge at Hawkrise, so I'm going to go and take a look.
18:11OK.
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.
18:22I couldn't tell Sophie.
18:23I couldn't tell Sophie.
18:23I 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, and I'm here now.
19:14And it's still going.
19:18Yeah, 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.
19:30I 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.
19:48But not when I'm having an attack.
19:51Then I can't do anything.
19:52I can't, I 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?
20:31Yeah, 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.
20:44Okay.
20:45Thank you, Mr Santa.
20:46Your total score for the daily living part of the assessment is zero points.
20:50Your 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 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?
21:38Okay.
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.
21:48Okay.
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...
22:09Yeah.
22:10That's what I wanted to talk to you about.
22:12So Justine says that the dispersal rate in that area is really high.
22:16Is it?
22:17Yeah.
22:17She says there's like a strong current and a high dispersal rate...
22:20The overflow pipe has been discharging for over 36 hours and it is still going.
22:24All right.
22:25That is the water company's responsibility to report to us.
22:29You know this.
22:30Yes.
22:32Okay.
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, no action needed.
22:50Yes.
22:52Mm-hmm.
22:53Mm-hmm.
22:56Mm-hmm.
22:56Oh, you want me to change it on the system?
22:58Could you?
22:58Could you?
22:59Yeah?
23:00Okay.
23:01Thanks so much.
23:02That's great.
23:03Lovely.
23:12So, you see how well we're doing?
23:14Yeah, of course.
23:14Are 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.
35:29Thanks.
35:30Thanks.
35:31You'll be fine.
35:32I need the toilet?
35:34I'm alright.
35:35I need a bloody toilet.
35:37Do you want a pie?
35:39What does that mean?
35:42Well, um, my garden is a, uh, an island which the window can open around
35:49rush wraps around i've watched it closely for 18 years and i watched the water turn brown
35:58i led a team of scientists using a machine learning analysis of two
36:04one of those works the environment agency said over 10 years only two pollution incidents have
36:15been reported our machine learning analysis showed hundreds of illegal spills more than 300 lasted 24
36:28hours and some longer than 10 days and some for a month have you shown this evidence to the
36:39environment agency well we are i've shown the evidence like many times what usually happens
36:45is that they uh they say that uh they show a sign of interest but then nothing happens
36:54we work very closely with professor hammond of windrush against sewage pollution we have a
37:02regular and very fruitful dialogue with him you worked closely with professor hammond
37:08uh he and ashley smith sent you at least 13 emails detailing evidence of illegal sewage dumping he
37:18published five evidence reports documenting water company criminality all of which were sent to you
37:25or your senior colleagues they invited you to come and look at the river in 2019 and the following year
37:33sent you an email with the heading environment agency complicit in law breaking
37:45they never heard back you never once replied in five years
37:51how did you manage to work so closely professor hammond when you never once spoke to him
37:55at the thames water modern treatment works there was a spill of 240 olympic swimming pools of sewage
38:06in a single day the existing monitoring failed to pick that up now why was that there will always be
38:14times
38:15when uh something happens usually accidentally but if we find that a water company has breached its permit
38:23it we will take appropriate action does appropriate action include prosecuting water company executives
38:30prosecution is a very high bar but where we think that's appropriate we wouldn't hesitate did you
38:39prosecute in this case no have you ever prosecuted any water company executives no but
38:46if we thought the evidence warranted it we wouldn't hesitate last year you told this committee that you
38:55became aware of sewage dumping in may 2021 yes but three weeks after that you told the committee that the
39:02water companies were improving and that more of them were getting four out of four stars why were you
39:09telling the committee that the water companies were doing a four-star job well you've quoted everything
39:19i said i think i i stand by everything i said i think you'll find them mutually consistent
39:28the agency's job is to make sure water companies obey the criminal law but it doesn't do it and the
39:35water
39:35companies do whatever they want the alleged crimes of their directors are never prosecuted they've built
39:44criminality into their business models because pollution is highly profitable and repeat offending has no
39:51consequences therefore in the light of the remarkable absence of any counter-corruption measures we demand
39:59an investigation into the environment agency the key test for me on regulation less regulation is
40:08it something that enables the builders not the blockers cut guidance by 80 percent we've also got to
40:14look at regulation regulations will go and where it is needlessly holding back the investment reduce the
40:20amount and the burden of regulation rip up the bureaucracy that blocks investment northumbria
40:25water recorded 30.1 spills per overflow over the course of 2023 280 000 hours and change in total
40:35the chief executive heidi mottram received a bonus of 234 000 pounds that year um why did you take for
40:44alter kits from the parent company well i didn't okay ck hutchins holdings owns 75 of chong kong infrastructure
40:54holdings the owner of northumbria and water and you declared two thousand pounds in football tickets
40:59and hospitality on that occasion there was nobody from a water company that was involved in offering
41:05those tickets there was nobody from a water company at that event well i wouldn't have known that they
41:10were you said that these sort of people should potentially be in the dock uh if they have been
41:16willing to break the rules you took two thousand pounds in tickets and hospitality for a football match
41:21and bosses linked to that company that polluted that water why should people in northumbria
41:26think that you're fit for me well i certainly wouldn't know that and judge me by what i do
41:30why not judge me by what i do that is what you did
41:44environment minister steve reed is pursuing legal action against a group of anglers trying to
41:50restore the ecosystem of their local river on the grounds that cleaning up individual rivers is
41:58administratively unworkable concerns are being raised about the number of leading labor figures
42:02with links to lobbying firms working for water companies among the invited guests at the
42:07government's international investment summit was macquarie bank described as the vampire kangaroo by
42:13critics macquarie presided over the near collapse of thames water leaving it 10 billion pounds in debt
42:19after having illegally dumped billions of liters of raw sewage
42:47i know i can't be left alone with her
42:54privatized water is a better deal than nationalized water
42:59that the water privatization i believe will go very successfully indeed that will go very
43:05successfully indeed and perhaps therefore we have better wait and see
43:12how did it come to this how did it happen that that england is it's the only place in the
43:23whole world
43:24whose water system is wholly privatized that our seas and our rivers are full of shite
43:35i just feel like we're trying to bring down england's biggest organized crime syndicate
43:43i mean they're not the mafia these water companies they're not a drugs cartel but they do
43:49dump sewage a thousand times a day and almost all of those are illegal and the cash they've accumulated
44:01145 billion pounds since privatization and they've got that because they seem to have built criminality
44:08into their business models
44:12so they are like an organized crime syndicate
44:16and the ceos and the owners are like crime bosses i mean they don't murder people
44:23obviously they'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 we put them into the hands of financial
44:53speculators whose job it is is just to make money we need to put the people who care in charge
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