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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.
00:50No prints.
00:53Nothing taken or disturbed.
00:57No.
00:58Unfortunately they're all my friends.
00:59Nothing.
00:59The blood sample wasn't big enough for the lab to get a full DNA read.
01:05It's disappointing.
01:08Well, I really thought there was enough for a full sample.
01:12Apparently not.
01:14What about the glove mark?
01:15Not enough resolution for them to do anything with.
01:18You know, I took photos of the house right after the break-in.
01:23And nothing was touched?
01:24No.
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.
01:49Nothing.
01:50No, me neither.
01:52So, um, there's not much more we can do.
01:57Okay.
01:59Okay.
02:23No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no,
02:45no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no,
02:46no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no,
02:46no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no,
02:46no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no,
02:46no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no
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,
03:19they can see the emails you write, your messages,
03:21your 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,
03:31he took a sample of the blood,
03:32there was some blood on the handle downstairs,
03:36and he thought he could see a disposable glove mark in it,
03:38which means that whoever did it
03:40wants 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
03:54on the cover of the Daily Mail, for example.
03:56I mean, I can't think of anything that, you know, I mean...
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, I don't know.
04:11Could it be a burglar who just got scared and legged it?
04:14Yeah, well, or he could have just seen
04:17Charlie's Hawaiian Cushions.
04:18Don't say that in front of Joe.
04:20I'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
04:29was pick up the phone to you.
04:31Yeah, no, I did see it, yeah.
04:33You probably saw it.
04:34I hung up.
04:35Just to...
04:36Yeah, I just think that what we need now is we need, 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,
05:11I'm writing to your office
05:12as I'm sure you will know where to direct the question.
05:14October 2019.
05:16Dear Sir James,
05:18I wrote to you to raise concerns
05:19about a serious integrity issue
05:21involving the agency.
05:23Dear Sir James,
05:2434 days have now passed
05:26since I sent you evidence.
05:27I've given up expecting a reply from you.
05:32Dear Ashley,
05:33I am in the receipt
05:36of your email
05:39to Sir James.
05:41Would you mind coming to our office
05:42and would the 19th
05:44suit?
05:55Is Sir James not coming?
05:56I'm afraid not.
05:58No, Sir James wouldn't routinely attend meetings
06:01at 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
06:09what you're going to do
06:10about the illegal
06:12sewage overflow at Borton.
06:14The combined storm overflow.
06:15The combined storm overflow
06:18at Borton has shown
06:18no detectable
06:19effects on the water quality.
06:21The water quality is stable
06:22and not deteriorating.
06:24I mean, our data shows
06:25very clearly
06:25that we have the best
06:26quality water
06:27since the Industrial Revolution.
06:31The water's turned brown.
06:32Yeah.
06:33It's turned so brown
06:35that when it joins
06:35the Thames at Newbridge
06:36it makes the Thames
06:37look like a Swiss mountain stream.
06:40The water is brown in places
06:43but that's a natural phenomenon.
06:45It's caused by geological faults.
06:47A geological fault?
06:48Yeah.
06:49Yeah.
06:49Sorry, a geological fault
06:51is millions of years old.
06:53We remember
06:54when the water was clear.
06:55No one remembers
06:56the good old days
06:57before the geological fault.
06:58In the last 12 months
07:00since we installed sensors
07:01there's been no evidence
07:02of pollution.
07:03Well, that's because
07:03you've installed the monitors
07:04upstream from the sewage pipes.
07:06Now, is that incompetence
07:08or an attempt
07:09to cover up a scandal?
07:10No, no.
07:10The agency would never
07:11position a monitor
07:12to achieve a particular reading.
07:14We are working extremely hard
07:15to transform the environment.
07:16We've improved
07:17and protected something like
07:18I think it's 15,000
07:20kilometres of river.
07:21It's like
07:22that you've had 92
07:25complaints from the general public
07:26about sewage pollution.
07:27That's just the wind rush.
07:29I've actually got the breakdown here.
07:32Yeah, yeah.
07:35In, well, in 36 of those cases
07:37there was no offence
07:39and in 39
07:41there was insufficient evidence
07:44and in 6
07:45we were unable
07:47to identify the offender.
07:48Well, what do you mean
07:49you couldn't identify the offenders?
07:51Why can't you identify the offenders?
07:52There's seven sewage works
07:54along the wind rush
07:54that are all run by Thames Water.
07:56I mean, you say
07:57you've got insufficient evidence
07:58but we keep giving you
07:59the evidence.
08:00All we ever do
08:01is give you the evidence
08:02and all we get back
08:02is it's under investigation.
08:04And then nothing,
08:06nothing,
08:07nothing ever happens.
08:09In exceptional circumstances
08:10for example
08:11after heavy rain
08:13the sewage systems
08:14are allowed to overflow.
08:15No, no, no, no.
08:17You see, that's not
08:17that's not the law.
08:18The law is that
08:19in all normal
08:20climatic conditions
08:21including heavy rainfall
08:23the water companies
08:24have to treat the sewage.
08:25They have to make it safe
08:26before they put it
08:27back into the river.
08:29The law is a grey area.
08:30No, no, it's not a grey area
08:32with respect.
08:33It's the law.
08:33Sorry, can I?
08:35Sorry.
08:37Thames is their own data.
08:40It shows they stopped
08:42treating sewage
08:43at North Leach
08:44for more than three months.
08:46Now, they told us
08:47that their sensors
08:49have 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?
09:12Doors are closed here.
09:18We're pretending
09:19regulators.
09:22Sorry?
09:24The regulation isn't real.
09:27The government
09:28wants us to look
09:28like a regulator
09:29but they won't let us do our job okay when cameron and trust gutted the agency
09:37we went from regulating the industry to doing its bidding
09:41do you think we could take your number look just keep going
09:47this is going to be the first government in modern history that at the end of its
09:52parliamentary term has less regulation in place than there was at the beginning we've now identified
09:58those 3 000 regulations that we're going to scrap let's reduce the amount and the burden of
10:03regulation strangled by retaining back uh the health and safety model guidance by 80 percent
10:08and we reduce farm inspections by 34 000 every year regulations will none of my ministers could
10:14introduce a regulation unless they abolished one at the same time massively reduce the number of rules
10:19laws 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
10:34responsibility for climate change and saying what more can we do to get us to net zero as you know
10:41this is a passion project for sir james who feels that we can bring our car usage down by 70
10:50percent
10:50yeah it's yeah so from next month we're going to be taking the bold decision to cut back decisively on
11:00our car leases
11:04yeah sorry just like to clarify what you you're going to get rid of our cars so it's about reducing
11:14the
11:14agency's carbon footprint just getting that yeah go ahead hannah the cars that we drive to the
11:22inspections in right yeah so so self-monitoring and and a more desk-based regulation is really it's really
11:30helping us move the needle on climate change
11:35what the room the remaining inspections yeah how do we get to those without a car yeah
11:45it's a great question it's a really great question and we'll take that forward to the next discussion
11:50meeting thanks hannah yeah lovely thanks everyone not easy news to break is it yeah it's a surprise
11:56debbie's got something to say i know i know i know but my car everyone's driving cars we're the
12:01environment agency absolutely what's wrong with the train i'll keep mine i think so yeah yeah
12:08does anybody know what we're looking at anybody okay could you tell me what the reactants are
12:17so if you move your head even slightly the vertical gets more intense yeah and the attacks happening
12:23maybe twice a week about that yeah
12:29the good news is that you don't have cancer we actually think it's meniere's it's a disease of
12:35the inner ear the main symptom is acute vertical episodes vomiting tinnitus it's a pretty neat fit with
12:44your presentation
12:48they were dumping sewage in the water uh the last time before i got sick right uh you know that
12:56from
12:56the surface against sewage app okay
13:01might that be the causes are unclear it's post viral this often starts with an ear infection you know
13:07they're common in surfers yeah every surfer i know this is a chronic condition i'm afraid there's no cure
13:18you know this is not a lot of time when it's time i'm afraid there's an air conditioning i don't
13:39know
13:39should we leave the table away so please don't get in here just hold us back
14:08So, by ending on-site inspections into categories 3 and 4,
14:14no 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 two 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 or to silently pass them
15:24and to not report them as pollution incidents.
15:28Is that clear?
15:33Yeah.
15:34Yeah. Thank you. Thanks, 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.
16:26We'll get some shots and we'll call the agency on the way back.
16:30Oh, my God.
16:39Oh, my God.
17:52Oh.
17:52Are you driving into work tomorrow?
17:55Oh yeah, obviously. How else would I get in?
17:56Well, can I borrow your car at lunchtime?
18:00What for?
18:02Someone keeps calling up and complaining about the same incident.
18:06It's near the bridge at Hawkrise, so I'm going to go and take a look.
18:09Shh, okay.
18:12A bit of freelance investigation.
18:13A bit of freelance, and also he needs to be off the books.
18:17And I need you to promise me not to tell Sophie.
18:21I'm going to tell Sophie.
18:22I'm going to tell Sophie.
18:23Obviously not.
18:24I'm going to tell Sophie anything.
18:25I'm going to tell Sophie.
18:53Hi.
18:54Hi, is 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, and 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, there's dead fish.
19:32You 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?
20:31Yeah, 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.
20:51Your total score for the mobility section is zero points.
20:55When you're not having an attack, you're able to do all the tasks I asked you about.
20:58That's the thing with my condition is that sometimes...
21:02You can...
21:02I can do these things, and other times I can't, and when I can't, I can't...
21:05I can't award you a personal independence payment.
21:08I don't know what to do.
21:09If you need further guidance about how to appeal, you can use the web chat to get some help.
21:15If you cannot access the web chat, you can contact the benefits appeal helpline on 0300...
21:22What's it?
21:27PHONE RINGS
21:31HANNAH
21:31Oh, shit, it's all right.
21:32Sorry 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've just got off the phone to Justine Wright-Phillips at the water company.
21:42Yeah.
21:43Yeah, she said you called her.
21:45Yeah, I did.
21:48Okay, she said you called her from the site.
21:51Well, I saw that it had been logged on the system for the fifth time
21:54and people kept calling up complaining
21:56and nobody was doing anything about it, so I...
21:58But we don't have the revenue to be investigating Category 3.
22:03It's not a Category 3, Sophie.
22:06The river is dried over with excrement.
22:08You can see it from...
22:09So that'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, she says there's like a strong current and a high dispersal rate...
22:20The overflow pipe has been discharging for over 36 hours
22:23and it is still going.
22:24All right, that is the water company's responsibility to report to us.
22:29You know this.
22:32Okay, and Justine says that actually really,
22:35because of the high dispersal rate,
22:37it should come down to a Category 4.
22:41Be a Category 4?
22:43Yes.
22:43Right.
22:43Mm-hmm.
22:46So no impact on the environment,
22:49no action needed?
22:50Yes.
22:52Mm-hmm.
22:56Oh, you want me to change it on the system?
22:58Could you?
22:58Could you?
22:59Yeah?
23:00Okay, thanks so much.
23:02That's great.
23:03Lovely.
23:04Lovely.
23:12So, you see how well we're doing?
23:13Yeah, of course.
23:15What are 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.
23:26So we don't have clients, Cheryl.
23:28We're an environment agency.
23:29Yes, sorry.
23:30Yes, we don't have clients.
23:32But Sir James has put the prices up, yeah?
23:35And I'm talking like up, up.
23:37Big time.
23:39Well, he's charging the water companies more.
23:41Yep.
23:42Well, surely they've gone down to the government,
23:44like, lobbying them, going,
23:45and they're getting the charges taken down.
23:47No.
23:48Not a peep.
23:49Not a peep.
23:51Sorry, they're just paying it.
23:53We've basically had such a high revenue spike, yeah,
23:58that we are on our way
24:00to becoming a client-funded regulator.
24:04Sorry, hold on one minute.
24:05This is going a bit...
24:06So you're saying that the water companies
24:10are funding the environment agency?
24:12That's what you're...
24:14Lee, you 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,
24:28the other day, Sir James said
24:30that you get the regulation that you pay for.
24:32Yeah.
24:32That we haven't got the money
24:34to do the investigations that we used to do.
24:37Nobody's paying for them.
24:38Okay.
24:38That's your area, isn't it?
24:40I mean, all I know is that
24:43we have got more cash than we've ever had before.
24:47Just making conversation.
24:51I've got the job.
24:53Postman?
24:53Mm-hmm.
24:54No?
24:54Yeah.
24:55Did you?
24:55Yeah.
24:56Oh, good one.
24:57Yeah, really good timing.
25:00Uh-huh.
25:01Because I did two pregnancy tests this morning.
25:05What?
25:06And, yeah, I'm pregnant.
25:08What?
25:09Yeah, pregnant.
25:10No?
25:11Yeah.
25:12Yeah.
25:13I sort of just had a funny feeling
25:14and then, yeah, did one test, two lines,
25:19and then I did another test
25:20and it said two lines as well
25:21and I was like, fuck.
25:23I can't do it.
25:25Oh, oh, oh.
25:33I'm Susan Davey.
25:35I am the CEO of Southwest Water.
25:37Basically, the wet weather events
25:40put a strain on our Victorian networks.
25:43And, unfortunately,
25:44we have a Victorian sewage system
25:47which we have inherited
25:48and that means things do go wrong.
25:51Did you say Victorian sewage network?
25:5312%.
25:5412?
25:5512%?
25:56What's 12%?
25:5812% of the sewage system is Victorian.
26:01What do they tell you?
26:02That the whole of the system was Victorian
26:05so that meant that the investment would be so high
26:08that it'd be impossible to actually fix it all.
26:11Bollocks.
26:12Shall I tell you what stopped it?
26:14When privatisation came in,
26:16they just stopped spending.
26:17After the war, they kept upgrading.
26:19Then after privatisation came in,
26:22they just stopped.
26:23Not just Thames, all of them.
26:276% new plants is privatisation.
26:296%?
26:306%.
26:31Is that all?
26:31You know, it'd be good
26:32if we could maybe come and visit one of the works.
26:35I don't know about that.
26:36Well, I'll have to see,
26:38but that's honestly,
26:38because even just doing this,
26:40I feel a bit nervous.
26:42Fucking London Stadium.
26:43That's not a proper stadium.
26:45Fucking massive.
26:46Upton Park.
26:46Now, that was a proper stadium, mate.
26:48London Stadium's too big.
26:50You fucking binoculars,
26:51you know what I mean?
26:51Yeah.
26:52Sorry, Pete,
26:52did 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
27:01on every sewage pipe in England.
27:03In 2012, right,
27:05the coalition government,
27:06they ordered all the water companies
27:08to record how much time
27:09they spend dumping raw sewage.
27:12These little units,
27:13they measure how much poo
27:14goes into the river by hours.
27:16Management have been dragging their feet
27:18for eight years now,
27:20but we're finally getting
27:21most of it in now.
27:22And the agency,
27:23they've got to publish their numbers.
27:25They have to, by law.
27:26They're not going to like it,
27:27but tough shit.
27:30EDMs.
27:32Yes.
27:35So, we are finalizing plans
27:38for the statutory publication
27:41of the EDM numbers.
27:44As you know,
27:45there have been some technical delays,
27:49but it looks like they're almost ready.
27:52And they're going to come
27:54as a bit of a shock.
27:57The data's going to show
27:59that the water companies
28:00discharged raw sewage
28:03400,000 times in 2020.
28:06That's 1,100 times a day
28:10for a total of 3.1 million hours.
28:16That's a bit of a shocker.
28:18Can I just say that
28:20since operator self-monitoring,
28:23we've had to rely on the water companies
28:25to report back to us?
28:27I think that the key here
28:29is that this doesn't get framed
28:30as a failure of regulation.
28:32That is, that is,
28:34that would be quite wrong.
28:35And I think managing comms
28:37on this is going to be key.
28:38And we are working actively
28:41with the water companies
28:42to bear down on the problem.
28:46Yeah.
28:46But that's 1,100 criminal offences a day.
28:51Well, that's actually,
28:51that's debatable
28:52because that depends
28:53on the terms of the permits
28:54and the circumstances
28:56around each spill.
28:57Yeah.
28:58And we know the legislation
29:00permits discharging
29:01after heavy rainfall.
29:02No, no, it doesn't.
29:04Sorry, Hannah.
29:05The law doesn't say
29:06that you can just dump sewage
29:08after heavy rain.
29:09It says that in all normal,
29:11climatic and seasonal circumstances,
29:13the water companies
29:14have to treat the sewage,
29:16not just dump it.
29:17It's not the agency's job
29:19to adjudicate legal matters.
29:20I mean, this is actually
29:21a matter for the courts.
29:23No, no, no.
29:24This is, this is our job.
29:25It's our job to enforce the law.
29:28Yeah.
29:29That's what we're here to do.
29:35Can you, um, you...
29:37Did you want to...
29:37No, no, you finish off here, Sophie.
29:43So we've identified the problem
29:44and now we work on the problem,
29:46which is reframing
29:47and owning the narrative.
29:48Yeah, we don't want this
29:49to get misconstrued
29:50as some sort of failure
29:51on our part
29:51because it just isn't.
29:52Thanks.
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
30:04to keep evidence in Parliament.
30:05Yes.
30:06Yes.
30:06Amazing.
30:07Yeah, I think you're bad.
30:09What does that mean,
30:10thinking about it?
30:11He's, uh...
30:12He's nervous.
30:12No, I'm not nervous.
30:14He's nervous.
30:15No, it's not that I'm nervous.
30:16I want to do it.
30:17It's just...
30:18It's difficult.
30:19Hey, don't worry about it.
30:20I'll...
30:21Yeah, we're counting on you.
30:22We are really counting on you.
30:23And you can explain it
30:24in a scientific way.
30:25You're going to come across
30:26brilliantly.
30:26They're going to believe you, mate.
30:28Well, it...
30:30It's not really as simple as that.
30:31I mean...
30:32The boys from Ogden
30:32called me earlier, right?
30:34They told me that they dumped
30:35two billion litres of sewage
30:37in the Thames
30:38over two days.
30:40Environment Agency
30:41haven'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, you can do this.
30:50Come on, Pete.
30:51It's all right, no.
30:52You're a legend, mate.
30:53Come on.
31:03We now have the lowest number
31:06of serious pollution incidents
31:08from water companies
31:09that we have yet recorded.
31:11More water companies
31:13are now at the highest level
31:15of performance,
31:16what we call
31:17four-star performance.
31:19I mean, we now have
31:20the lowest number
31:21of serious pollution incidents
31:23from water companies
31:24that we have yet recorded.
31:54I'm an environment officer
31:55at the agency.
31:56I investigate sewage pollution.
32:01When I first joined,
32:04it wasn't a job
32:05to get rich on.
32:07I could see
32:08I was making a difference.
32:12Corporations want to make money.
32:14We make sure
32:14that they don't poison
32:15the rivers doing it.
32:17We could investigate,
32:19prosecute,
32:19whatever it took.
32:22But then they told
32:23the companies
32:23that they could
32:25regulate themselves.
32:27Let's upraise
32:28a self-monitoring.
32:29Exactly.
32:31Then came
32:32the Cameron cuts,
32:33then the trust cuts.
32:35They laid off
32:36investigators,
32:38slashed prosecutions.
32:39I mean,
32:39they even took our cars
32:40off of us
32:40so we couldn't
32:41visit pollution sites.
32:42So all these cuts
32:43meant you couldn't
32:44do your job properly?
32:46That's not it.
32:49In 2021,
32:51Sir James
32:51hiked the prices
32:53the water companies
32:53paid for their permits.
32:55It was called
32:56charge-funded regulation.
32:58We get 96 million
33:00from the government.
33:01We are now
33:02pulling in
33:04411 million
33:05from charges.
33:07All these cuts,
33:08they're just a smoke screen.
33:10We're swimming in cash.
33:13I am doing this
33:15because I know
33:15that it is wrong
33:16and it has ruined
33:18my whole working life.
33:23Good luck.
33:37Right.
33:40Fucking hell.
33:42What should we do?
33:43Well, first we read them
33:45and then I think
33:47we should call
33:47some journalists.
33:50The Environment Agency
33:52has refused
33:53to comment
33:53on whether
33:54agency directors
33:55currently hold shares
33:57in UK water companies.
33:58The agency claimed
34:00it would break
34:01data protection laws
34:02if it disclosed
34:03the information.
34:04Environment Agency
34:04chiefs secretly held
34:06a series of private dinners
34:07with water company bosses
34:08at the Royal Automobile Club
34:10in central London.
34:12Documents released
34:12under the Freedom of Information Act
34:14showed the meetings
34:15were held
34:16to discuss
34:17how to quell
34:18public anger
34:18over sewage.
34:19As the sewage scandal
34:20deepens,
34:21Environment Agency
34:22CEO
34:23Sir James Bevan
34:24has been called
34:25to give evidence
34:25to a parliamentary committee.
34:27Well, we need to talk
34:28about what we say
34:29in public
34:29and the responsibilities
34:31we have.
34:33You have a duty
34:34not to openly
34:36criticise
34:37or discredit
34:38the organisation
34:38in the media
34:40or on social media
34:43or to disclose
34:44confidential information
34:46to anyone
34:47not authorised
34:48to receive it.
34:51If your comments
34:52inside or outside work
34:54impact on the agency's
34:55reputation
34:55by making derogatory comments
34:57about the organisation
34:59or your managers
35:00or you make comments
35:02that bring the organisation
35:03into disrepute,
35:04you may be subject
35:05to disciplinary action
35:08and in more serious cases
35:11dismissal.
35:25I don't think I want to do this.
35:30You'll be fine.
35:32Leave the toilet?
35:34I'm alright.
35:35I need a bloody toilet.
35:37Do you want a pie?
35:38What does that mean?
35:43Well, my garden
35:45is an island
35:47which the Windrush
35:49wraps around.
35:52I've watched it closely
35:53for 18 years
35:55and I watched the water
35:57turn brown.
35:58I led a team
35:59of scientists
36:00using a machine
36:02learning analysis
36:03of two
36:04sewage treatment works
36:05run by
36:06Tense Water.
36:07One of those works
36:09the Environment Agency
36:10said
36:11over 10 years
36:12only two
36:14pollution incidents
36:15have been reported.
36:17Our
36:17machine learning
36:18analysis
36:21showed
36:22hundreds
36:23of illegal spills
36:24more than
36:26300 lasted
36:2824 hours
36:29and some
36:31longer than
36:3210 days
36:34and some
36:35for a month.
36:37Have you shown
36:38this evidence
36:38to the Environment Agency?
36:40Well, we are.
36:41I've shown the evidence
36:42many times.
36:44What usually happens
36:45is that they
36:47say that
36:48they show
36:49a sign of interest
36:50but then
36:50nothing happens.
36:54We work
36:55very closely
36:56with Professor Hammond
36:58of Windrush
36:59against sewage
37:00pollution.
37:01We have
37:01a regular
37:03and very
37:04fruitful
37:04dialogue with him.
37:06You worked
37:07closely with
37:07Professor Hammond.
37:09He and
37:10Ashley Smith
37:11sent you
37:12at least
37:1313 emails
37:14detailing
37:15evidence
37:15of illegal
37:16sewage dumping.
37:17He published
37:18five evidence
37:20reports
37:20documenting
37:21water company
37:22criminality
37:22all of which
37:23were sent to
37:24you or your
37:25senior colleagues.
37:26They invited
37:27you to come
37:28and look
37:29at the river
37:29in 2019
37:31and the
37:32following year
37:33sent you an email
37:34with the heading
37:36Environment Agency
37:38complicit in lawbreaking.
37:45They never heard back.
37:46You never once replied
37:48in five years.
37:51How did you manage
37:52to work so closely
37:53with Professor Hammond
37:54when you never once
37:55spoke to him?
37:55At the
37:56Thames Water
37:57Mogden
37:58Treatment Works
37:59there was
38:00a spill
38:01of 240
38:04Olympic
38:05swimming pools
38:06of sewage
38:06in a single day.
38:08The existing
38:08monitoring
38:09failed to pick
38:10that up.
38:11Now why was that?
38:13There will always
38:14be times
38:15when something
38:16happens.
38:17Usually
38:17accidentally.
38:19But if we find
38:20that a water
38:21company has breached
38:22its permit
38:24we will take
38:25appropriate action.
38:26Does
38:26appropriate action
38:28include prosecuting
38:29water company executives?
38:30Prosecution is a very
38:31high bar
38:32but
38:34where we think
38:35that's appropriate
38:36we wouldn't hesitate.
38:38Did you
38:39prosecute in this case?
38:40No.
38:42Have you ever
38:42prosecuted
38:43any
38:44water company executives?
38:45No but
38:47if we thought
38:48the evidence
38:49warranted it
38:50we wouldn't hesitate.
38:53Last year
38:53you told this committee
38:54that you became aware
38:55of sewage thumping
38:56in May 2021.
38:58Yes.
38:59But three weeks
39:00after that
39:01you told the committee
39:02that the water
39:02companies were improving
39:03and that more of them
39:05were getting
39:05four out of
39:06four stars.
39:08Why were you
39:09telling the committee
39:10that the water
39:11companies were doing
39:12a four star job?
39:15Well you've
39:17quoted
39:18everything I said
39:19I think
39:20I stand
39:21by everything
39:22I said
39:23I think
39:24you'll
39:25find them
39:26mutually consistent.
39:28The agency's
39:30job
39:30is to make sure
39:31water companies
39:32obey
39:33the criminal law
39:34but it doesn't do it
39:35and the water companies
39:36do whatever they want.
39:38The alleged crimes
39:39of their directors
39:40are never
39:42prosecuted
39:43they've built
39:44criminality
39:45into their
39:46business models
39:47because pollution
39:48is highly profitable
39:49and repeat offending
39:50has no consequences.
39:53Therefore
39:53in the light
39:55of the remarkable
39:56absence of
39:56any counter-corruption
39:58measures
39:58we demand
39:59an investigation
40:00into the
40:01environment agency.
40:05the key test
40:06for me
40:06on regulation
40:07less regulation
40:08is it something
40:09that enables
40:10the builders
40:10not the blockers
40:11cut guidance
40:12by 80%
40:13we've also
40:14got to look
40:14at regulation
40:15regulations
40:16will go
40:16and where
40:17it is needlessly
40:18holding back
40:19the investment
40:19reduce the amount
40:20and the burden
40:21of regulation
40:22rip up the bureaucracy
40:23that blocks
40:24investment.
40:25Northumbria
40:25and water
40:26recorded
40:2630.1 spills
40:27per overflow
40:28over the course
40:29of 2023
40:29280,000 hours
40:33and change
40:34in total.
40:35The chief executive
40:37Heidi Mottram
40:38received a bonus
40:38of £234,000
40:41that year.
40:43Why did you
40:44take football
40:44tickets
40:45from the
40:46parent company?
40:48Well
40:48I didn't.
40:49Okay
40:50C.K. Hutchins
40:51Holdings
40:51owns 75%
40:52of Chung Kong
40:53Infrastructure
40:54Holdings
40:54the owner
40:55of Northumbria
40:55and Water
40:56and you
40:57declared
40:57£2,000
40:58in football
40:58tickets
40:58and hospitality.
41:00On that
41:01occasion
41:01there was
41:02nobody
41:02from a
41:03water company
41:03that was
41:04involved
41:04in offering
41:05those tickets
41:05there was
41:06nobody
41:06from a
41:06water company
41:07at that event
41:08well I
41:08wouldn't have
41:09known that
41:10they were
41:10present
41:11You said
41:12that these
41:12sort of
41:12people
41:13should
41:13potentially
41:14be in
41:14the
41:14dock
41:15if they
41:15have been
41:16willing to
41:16break the
41:17rules.
41:17You took
41:18£2,000 in
41:19tickets and
41:19hospitality for
41:20a football
41:21match from
41:21bosses linked
41:22to that
41:23company that
41:23polluted
41:23that water.
41:24Why should
41:25people in
41:25Northumbria
41:26think that
41:27you're
41:27fit for
41:28your dock?
41:28I certainly
41:28wouldn't have
41:29known that
41:29and judge me
41:29by what I
41:30Why not?
41:30Judge me
41:30by what I
41:31did.
41:31That is
41:32what you
41:32did.
41:44Environment
41:45Minister Steve
41:46Reid is
41:47pursuing legal
41:48action against
41:48a group of
41:49anglers trying
41:50to restore the
41:51ecosystem of
41:52their local
41:52river on the
41:53grounds that
41:54cleaning up
41:55individual rivers
41:56is administratively
41:58unworkable.
41:59Concerns are being
42:00raised about the
42:01number of leading
42:01labour figures with
42:02links to lobbying
42:03firms working for
42:04water companies.
42:05Among the
42:06invited guests at
42:07the government's
42:07international
42:08investment summit
42:09was Macquarie
42:10Bank.
42:10Described as
42:12the vampire
42:12kangaroo by
42:13critics, Macquarie
42:15presided over the
42:16near collapse of
42:17Thames water,
42:18leaving it 10
42:18billion pounds in
42:19debt after having
42:20illegally dumped
42:21billions of
42:22litres of raw
42:23sewage.
42:40Reuben?
42:43Reuben?
42:47I know I can't
42:49be left alone
42:49with her.
42:54Privatised water
42:55is a better deal
42:57than nationalised
42:58water.
42:59That the water
43:00privatisation, I
43:02believe, will go
43:02very successfully
43:04indeed, that will
43:05go very successfully
43:06indeed, and perhaps
43:07therefore we have
43:08better way to see
43:09so that we can
43:10contribute into the
43:11light of the fact.
43:13How did it come to
43:14this?
43:16How did it happen
43:19that England is the
43:22only place in the
43:23whole world whose
43:25water system is
43:26wholly privatised?
43:30That our seas and
43:31our rivers are full
43:33of shite?
43:35I just feel like we're
43:37trying to bring down
43:38England's biggest
43:40organised crime
43:42syndicate.
43:43I mean, they're not
43:45the mafia, these
43:46water companies.
43:47They're not a drugs
43:48cartel, but they do
43:49dump sewage a thousand
43:52times a day, and
43:54almost all of those
43:55are illegal.
43:56And the cash they've
43:59accumulated, £145 billion
44:02since privatisation, and
44:05they've got that because
44:06they seem to have built
44:07criminality into their
44:09business models.
44:11So they are like an
44:13organised crime
44:14syndicate.
44:16And the CEOs and the
44:18owners are like crime
44:20bosses.
44:21I mean, they don't murder
44:22people, obviously.
44:24They're not assassins.
44:28But me and Peter are
44:29sitting here waiting for
44:32these crime lords to put
44:33things right.
44:36And if we leave them to
44:38their own devices, they
44:41never will.
44:43They never will.
44:46We've put the things that
44:47we own and care about
44:50together, we've put them
44:52into the hands of
44:53financial speculators,
44:54whose job it is, is just
44:56to make money.
44:58We need to put the people
45:00who care in charge.
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