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00:04I'm not sure if I'm going to go in.
00:06Really? Yeah.
00:08You'll be fine. It'll be 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.
00:24Thanks, you.
00:38Wait, mate!
00:43Wait!
00:50No prints.
00:53Nothing taken or disturbed?
00:57No.
00:58Unfortunately, the blood sample wasn't big enough for the lab to get.
01:02For DNA read.
01:05It's disappointing.
01:08Well...
01:08I 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...
01:27They put everything back in its place, which is what you would do if you were installing a listening device.
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 mean, listen...
01:41Well, I mean, um...
01:43As you know...
01:46We'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.
02:11A jaka...
02:13It's almost...
02:14I mean, you know, all of us are empty.
02:14You aren't guilty.
02:14No, I've been guilty.
02:16We've been guilty.
02:17We were waiting for you.
02:17No, my God.
02:17You're guilty.
02:17No, you'll never be guilty.
02:18You're guilty.
02:23No, I don't have any time.
02:24No, my God.
02:25There's no doubt.
02:29Oh, my God.
02:59You've worked in surveillance, haven't you, for years, so you're telling me you can't
03:03actually see if they've got a new computer on them?
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, which means
03:17they can record every key you press, every mouse click, they can see the emails you write,
03:21your 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, he took a sample of the blood, there was some blood on the handle
03:35downstairs and he thought he could see a disposable glove mark in it, which means that whoever
03:39did it wants to make sure they're untraceable.
03:42He did think they could find a DNA result, and 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...
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?
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 Charlotte'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, the first thing I did was pick up the phone
04:30to 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 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.
05:04June 2019, Sir James Bevan Environment Agency.
05:10Dear Sir James, I'm writing to your office as I'm sure you will know where to direct
05:14the question.
05:14October 2019, Dear Sir James, I wrote to you to raise concerns about a serious integrity
05:21issue 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.
06:05He's time for.
06:06Yeah.
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
06:13at Borton.
06:14The combined storm overflow.
06:15Yeah.
06:16The combined storm overflow at Burton 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
06:28Revolution.
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
06:37like a Swiss mountain stream.
06:40The water is brown in places, but that's a natural phenomenon.
06:45It's caused by a geological fault.
06:47A geological fault?
06:48Yeah.
06:48Yeah.
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.
07:21It'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 six, we were unable to identify the offender.
07:49What 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 that are 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, and all we get back is it's under investigation.
08:04And then nothing, nothing, nothing ever happens.
08:09In exceptional circumstances, for example, after heavy rain, the sewage systems are allowed to overflow.
08:15No.
08:16No, 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.
08:31No, it's not a grey area with respect.
08:33It's the law.
08:33Sorry, can I?
08:35Sorry.
08:37Thames is their own data.
08:40It 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 on the ground here.
09:17We're potential regulators.
09:22Sorry?
09:24The regulation isn't real.
09:26Well, the government want us to look like a regulator, but they won't let us do our job.
09:32Okay.
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...
09:43Well, just keep going.
09:47This is going to be the first government in modern history that at the end of its parliamentary term
09:53has less 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 retaining back the health and safety monster.
10:06Cut guidance by 80% and we reduce farm inspections by 34,000 every year.
10:12Regulations will...
10:13None of my ministers could introduce a regulation unless they abolished one at the same time.
10:17We've massively reduced 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
10:33and 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,
10:44who feels that we can bring our car usage down by 70%.
10:50Yeah.
10:52It's... Yeah.
10:53So, from next month, we're going to be taking the bold decision
10:58to cut back decisively on our car leases.
11:04Yeah.
11:05Sorry.
11:06Just like to clarify what...
11:09You'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...
11:29It's really helping us move the needle on climate change.
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.
11:48And we'll take that forward to the next discussion meeting.
11:51Thanks, Hannah.
11:53Yeah, lovely. Thanks, everyone.
11:54Not easy news to break, is it?
11:56Yeah, it's fine. It's all right.
11:57Debbie's got something to say.
11:58I know. I know.
11:59But my car...
11:59Everyone's driving cars. We're the environment agency.
12:02Absolutely.
12:02What's wrong with the train? I'll keep mine, I think.
12:04So, yeah.
12:05Mmm, coffee. How 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?
12:18So, if you move your head even slightly, the vertical gets more intense?
12:21Yeah.
12:21And 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,
12:40vomiting,
12:41tinnitus.
12:43It's a pretty neat fit with your presentation.
12:48They were dumping sewage?
12:50In the water.
12:52The last time before I got sick.
12:54Right.
12:55You know that from the surface against sewage, yeah?
12:59Okay.
13:01Might that be?
13:02The causes are unclear.
13:04It's post-viral.
13:05This often starts with an ear infection.
13:07They're common in surfers.
13:08Yeah.
13:09Every surfer I know.
13:10Oh my God!
13:11Oh!
13:12What?
13:13This is a chronic condition.
13:16I'm afraid there's no cure.
13:19I'm afraid there's no cure.
13:31I'm afraid there's no cure.
13:39I'm afraid there's no cure.
13:42I'm afraid there's no cure.
13:43I'm afraid there's no cure.
13:44I'm afraid there's no cure.
13:44I'm afraid there's no cure.
13:45I'm afraid there's no cure.
13:46I'm afraid there's no cure.
13:48I'm afraid there's no cure.
14:08So, by ending on-site inspections into categories three and four,
14:14no or low-impact pollution events and doubling down,
14:18on 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 three and four.
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, Danny, 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, and to not report them as pollution incidents.
15:28Is that clear?
15:33Yeah. Thank you. Thanks, everyone.
15:35You're on with your day.
15:47We had to fuck.
15:49Fuckin' wankers.
15:50How are you going to get to fuckin' work?
15:52Fuck nice.
15:55Horseback.
16:03What time did he call you?
16:04I passed 10 last night.
16:08Said he couldn't miss it.
16:20Oh, my God, look at it.
16:26Get some shots and we'll call the agency on the way back.
16:34I am not.
16:36Not doing that right.
16:37Well, I'm not.
16:45What?
16:50Wait.
16:51Hold on.
16:52Oh.
16:55Oh, my God.
16:57Oh.
16:57Oh, my God.
17:00Oh, my God.
17:02Oh, my God.
17:03Oh, my God.
17:03Oh.
17:03Oh, my God.
17:08I don't know.
17:51Debbie, are you driving into work tomorrow?
17:54Yeah, obviously. How else would I get in?
17:56Well, can I borrow your car at lunchtime?
18:00What for?
18:02Someone keeps calling up and complaining about the same incident.
18:06It's near the bridge at Hawkrise, so I'm going to go and take a look.
18:11Okay.
18:12A bit of freelance investigation.
18:14A bit of freelance. And 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.
18:23You know what? I couldn't tell Sophie anything.
18:53Hi.
18:54Hi, is that Justine?
18:57Hi, Justine.
18:59It's Hannah from the Environment Agency.
19:04Listen, it's about the pollution event at Hawke Rise.
19:09It came through the system at a duration of 1.34 hours,
19:13and I'm here now, and it's still going.
19:18Yeah, yeah, I'm here now, yeah.
19:21Yeah, the 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. I can't move.
19:54Can you eat and drink unaided?
19:57Yeah, 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.
20:37No, 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.
20:54When 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.
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 030012.
21:31Hanna.
21:32Oh, shit.
21:32Sorry.
21:32Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you.
21:34Um, do you have a second?
21:36Can I have a word?
21:36Of course.
21:37Yeah?
21:38Okay.
21:38So I've just, I just got off the phone to Justine Wright Phillips at the water company.
21:42Yeah.
21:43Yeah, she said, she said you called her.
21:45Yeah, I, yeah, you 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, and 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...
22:09Yeah, so that's what I wanted to talk to you about.
22:11So Justine says that the dispersal rate in that area is really high.
22:16Is it?
22:17Yeah, she says, she says there's like a strong current and a high dispersal rate of the untreated page.
22:21It has been discharging for over 36 hours, and it is still going.
22:24All right, that's, that is the water company's responsibility to report to us.
22:29You know this.
22:32Okay, and Justine says that actually, really, the, um, because of the high dispersal rate,
22:37that it should come down to a Category 4.
22:41Be a Category 4?
22:43Yes.
22:43Right.
22:44Mm-hmm.
22:46So, no impact on the environment, no action needed?
22:50Yes.
22:52Mm-hmm.
22:56Oh, you want me to change it on this?
22:57Just look.
22:58Could you?
22:58Could you?
22:59Yeah?
23:00Okay, thanks so much.
23:02That's great.
23:03Lovely.
23:12So, you see how well we're doing?
23:14Yeah, of course.
23:14Are you joking?
23:16I'm not joking.
23:17You know SROIC?
23:19No, what's that?
23:21Strategic Review of Incident Charges.
23:23Yeah, it's like what we charge the clients for permits.
23:26So, we don't have clients, Cheryl.
23:28We're an environment agency.
23:29Okay, sorry.
23:30Yes, we don't have clients.
23:31Yes, but 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,
23:46my, J, getting the charges taken down.
23:48No.
23:48Not a peep.
23:49Not a peep.
23:51They're just paying it.
23:54We've basically had such a high revenue spike, yeah,
23:57that 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
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.
24:37We're not...
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.
24:53Hostman?
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.
25:13I 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.
25:33I'm Susan Davey.
25:35I am the CEO of Southwest Water.
25:37This is the wet weather events.
25:39Overflow.
25:40Put a strain on our Victorian networks.
25:43And, unfortunately, we have a Victorian sewage system
25:47which we have inherited
25:48and that means things do go wrong.
25:51What do 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?
26:02They knew that 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,
26:25all of them.
26:266% 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.
26:51Do you 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,
27:05the coalition government,
27:06they ordered all the water companies
27:08to record how much time they spend
27:10dumping raw sewage.
27:12These little units,
27:13they measure how much poo goes into the river
27:15by hours.
27:16Management have been dragging their feet
27:18for eight years now.
27:19But we're finally getting most of it in now.
27:22And the agency,
27:23they've got to publish the 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,
27:36we are finalizing plans
27:38for the statutory publication
27:41of the EDM numbers.
27:44As you know,
27:45there have been
27:46some technical delays,
27:49but it looks like
27:49they're almost ready.
27:51And, uh,
27:53they're
27:53going to come as a bit of a shock.
27:56Uh,
27:57the data's
27:58going to show
27:59that the water companies
28:00discharged raw sewage
28:03400,000 times
28:05in 2020.
28:06That's
28:071,100 times a day
28:10for a total of
28:123.1 million hours.
28:17That's a bit of a shocker.
28:18Can I just say that, um,
28:21since
28:21operator 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,
28:33that is,
28:34that would be quite wrong.
28:35And, uh,
28:36and I think managing comms on this
28:37is going to be key.
28:38And we are
28:39working actively
28:41with the water companies
28:42to, uh,
28:43to, to,
28:44to bear down
28:45on the problem.
28:46Yeah.
28:46And, uh...
28:47But that's 1,100
28:48criminal offences
28:49a 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
28:59the legislation permits
29:00discharging after heavy rainfall
29:01and so...
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
29:10in 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,
29:21this is actually a matter
29:22for the courts.
29:23No, no, no.
29:24This is,
29:24this is our job.
29:25It's our job
29:26to enforce the law.
29:28Yeah.
29:29That's what we're here to do.
29:35Can you, um...
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,
29:45which 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 give 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...
30:11He's nervous.
30:13No, 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.
30:21We're counting on you.
30:22We are really counting on you.
30:23And you can explain it
30:24in this scientific way.
30:25You're going to come across brilliantly.
30:26They're going to believe you, mate.
30:27Well, 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.
30:48Please, you can do this.
30:50Come on, Pete.
30:51That'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.
31:19We now have the lowest number
31:21of serious pollution incidents
31:23from water companies
31:24that we have yet recorded.
31:54I'm an environment officer.
31:55officer of 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,
32:34then 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.
33:14I 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
33:46and then I think
33:47we should call
33:47some journalists.
33:50The Environment Agency
33:52has refused to comment
33:53on whether agency 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 chiefs
34:05secretly 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
34:57comments
34:57about the organisation
34:59or your managers
35:00or you make comments
35:02that bring the organisation
35:03into disrepute,
35:05you may be subject
35:05to disciplinary action
35:07and in more serious cases
35:10dismissal.
35:24work's one of those
35:25private agents
35:25over the last
35:27ten years.
35:29I don't think
35:30I want to do this.
35:31You'll be fine.
35:32Leave the toilet?
35:34I'm alright.
35:35I need a bloody toilet.
35:37Do you want a pie?
35:39What 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
35:57the water turn 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 ten 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
36:24spills.
36:26More than
36:26300 lasted
36:2824 hours
36:29and some
36:31longer
36:32than 10 days
36:33and some
36:35for a month.
36:37Have you shown
36:38this evidence
36:38evidence to the
36:39Environment 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 a sign
36:50of 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 a
37:02regular
37:03and very
37:04fruitful
37:04dialogue with
37:05him.
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,
37:23all 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
37:35Environment
37:37Agency
37:38Complicit
37:39in Lawbreaking.
37:45They never
37:45heard back.
37:46You never
37:47once replied
37:48in five
37:49years.
37:51How did
37:52you manage
37:52to work
37:53so closely
37:53with Professor
37:54Hammond
37:54when you
37:54never once
37:55spoke to him?
37:56At the
37:56Thames Water
37:57Mogden
37:58Treatment
37:59Works
37:59there was
38:00a spill
38:01of
38:02240
38:04Olympic
38:05swimming pools
38:06of sewage
38:06in a single
38:07day.
38:08The existing
38:08monitoring
38:09failed to
38:10pick that
38:10up.
38:11Now why
38:12was that?
38:13There will
38:13always be
38:14times when
38:15something
38:16happens.
38:17Usually
38:17accidentally.
38:19But if we
38:20find that
38:21a water
38:21company has
38:22breached
38:22its permit
38:24we will
38:25take appropriate
38:25action.
38:26Does
38:26appropriate
38:27action include
38:28prosecuting
38:29water company
38:30executives?
38:30Prosecution
38:31is a very
38:31high bar
38:32but
38:34where we
38:35think that's
38:36appropriate
38:36we wouldn't
38:38hesitate.
38:38Did you
38:39prosecute in
38:39this case?
38:40No.
38:41Have you
38:42ever
38:42prosecuted
38:43any
38:44water
38:45company
38:45executives?
38:45No but
38:47if we
38:48thought the
38:48evidence
38:49warranted it
38:50we wouldn't
38:51hesitate.
38:53Last year
38:53you told
38:54this committee
38:54that you
38:55became aware
38:55of sewage
38:56dumping in
38:56May 2021.
38:58Yes.
38:59But three
39:00weeks after
39:00that you
39:01told the
39:01committee that
39:02the water
39:02companies were
39:03improving and
39:04that more of
39:04them were
39:05getting four
39:06out of four
39:07stars.
39:08Why were you
39:09telling the
39:10committee that
39:10the water
39:11companies were
39:11doing a
39:12four-star
39:12job?
39:15Well you've
39:17quoted
39:18everything I
39:19said.
39:20I think I
39:20stand by
39:22everything I
39:22said.
39:23I think
39:24you'll find
39:26them mutually
39:26consistent.
39:28The agency's
39:30job is to
39:30make sure
39:31water companies
39:32obey the
39:33criminal law
39:34but it
39:34doesn't do
39:35it and the
39:35water companies
39:36do whatever
39:36they want.
39:38The alleged
39:38crimes of
39:40their directors
39:40are never
39:42prosecuted.
39:44They've built
39:44criminality into
39:46their business
39:46models because
39:47pollution is
39:48highly profitable
39:49and repeat
39:50offending has
39:50no consequences.
39:53Therefore,
39:54in the light of
39:55the remarkable
39:56absence of any
39:57counter-corruption
39:58measures, we
39:59demand an
39:59investigation into
40:00the Environment
40:01Agency.
40:05the key test
40:06for me on
40:07regulation.
40:07Less regulation.
40:08Is it something
40:09that enables the
40:10builders, not the
40:11blockers?
40:11Cut guidance by
40:1280%.
40:13We've also got to
40:14look at regulation.
40:15Regulations will
40:16go.
40:17And where it is
40:17needlessly holding
40:18back the investment.
40:19Reduce the amount
40:20and the burden of
40:21regulation.
40:22Rip out the
40:23bureaucracy that
40:23blocks investment.
40:25Northumbria and
40:25Water recorded 30.1
40:27spills per overflow
40:28over the course of
40:292023.
40:31280,000 hours and
40:34change in total.
40:35The chief executive,
40:37Heidi Mottram,
40:38received a bonus of
40:38£234,000 that year.
40:43Why did you take
40:44football tickets from
40:46the parent company?
40:48Well, I didn't.
40:49Okay.
40:50C.K.
40:50Hutchins Holdings
40:51owns 75% of
40:52Chong Kong Infrastructure
40:54Holdings, the owner of
40:55Northumbria and Water.
40:56And you declared
40:57£2,000 in football
40:58tickets and
40:59hospitality.
41:00On that occasion,
41:01there was nobody
41:02from a water company
41:03that was involved in
41:04offering those tickets.
41:06There was nobody
41:06from a water company
41:07at that event.
41:08I wouldn't have
41:09known that.
41:10They weren't present.
41:10You should have
41:11known that.
41:11You said that these
41:12sort of people should
41:13potentially be in the
41:14dock if they have
41:16been willing to break
41:16the rules.
41:17You took £2,000 in
41:19tickets and hospitality
41:20for a football match
41:21from bosses linked to
41:22that company that
41:23polluted that water.
41:24Why should people in
41:25Northumbria think that
41:27you're split for your
41:28job?
41:28Well, I certainly
41:28wouldn't have known
41:29that and judge me
41:29by what I did.
41:30Why not?
41:30Judge me by what I did.
41:31No, that is what
41:32you did.
41:45Environment Minister
41:46Steve Reid is pursuing
41:47legal action against a
41:49group of anglers trying
41:50to restore the ecosystem
41:51of their local river
41:53water on the grounds
41:54that cleaning up
41:55individual rivers is
41:58administratively unworkable.
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 invited
42:06guests at the
42:07government's
42:07international investment
42:08summit was Macquarie
42:10Bank.
42:10Described as the
42:12vampire kangaroo by
42:13critics, Macquarie
42:15presided over the
42:16near collapse of
42:17Thames Water,
42:17leaving it £10
42:18billion in debt
42:19after having illegally
42:20dumped billions of
42:22litres of raw sewage.
42:39Reuben?
42:47I know I can't be
42:49left alone with
42:49her.
42:54Privatised water is a
42:56better deal than
42:57nationalised water.
42:59That the water
43:00privatisation, I
43:02believe, will go very
43:03successfully indeed.
43:04It will go very
43:05successfully indeed.
43:07And perhaps therefore
43:08we have better wait
43:09and see so that we
43:10can watch.
43:10She'll pretend to
43:11the light of the
43:12facts.
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
43:27wholly 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
43:41syndicate.
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
43:51thousand times a
43:53day.
43:53And almost all of
43:54those are illegal.
43:57And the cash
43:58they've accumulated,
44:01£145 billion
44:02since privatisation,
44:05and they've got
44:05that because they
44:06seem 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
44:18the owners are like
44:20crime bosses.
44:21I mean, they don't
44:22murder people,
44:23obviously.
44:24They're not
44:25assassins.
44:28But me and Peter are
44:29sitting here waiting
44:30for these crime
44:32lords to put things
44:33right.
44:36And if we leave
44:38them to their own
44:39devices, they
44:41never will.
44:43They never will.
44:46We've put the
44:46things that we own
44:48and care about
44:50together, we've put
44:52them into the hands
44:53of financial
44:53speculators, whose
44:55job it is, is just
44:56to make money.
44:58We need to put the
44:59people who care
45:01in charge.
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