Feargal Sharkey has called on Environment Secretary Steve Reed to resign over the litany of failures in the water industry.
The water campaigner said a major report into the industry did not go far enough in tackling “corporate greed” and continuing “exploitation and abuse of consumers, bill payers and the environment”.
Former Undertones frontman Sharkey sought to put the blame significantly on the Government for the ongoing failings in the water sector.
Asked if Mr Reed was the right person to carry on as Environment Secretary, he told BBC radio: “At this moment in time, no.
“Steve should reflect very carefully about what he has achieved in the last 12 months...clearly when you have a situation where three days ago it’s announced there has been a 60 per cent increase in serious pollution incidents, you have no control over that industry.”
He added that ministers were warned that the water industry would seek to get around a ban on bonuses by hiking pay for its bosses.
But No10 sprung to Mr Reed’s defence.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “Steve Reed is doing an excellent job.”
Water minister Emma Hardy dismissed Sharkey’s intervention, telling ITV’s Good Morning Britain: “He’s an incredible musician, I loved his band, he has been an amazing campaigner.
“But I’ll admit that I was slightly disappointed to hear him criticising the report before the report had been published.
“What I would say is look what we have done since we went in in Government.”
She listed a series of actions including the banning of unfair bonuses for water bosses.
The much-anticipated final report from the Independent Water Commission, led by former Bank of England deputy governor Sir Jon Cunliffe, outlined 88 recommendations.
For England, proposals included abolishing Ofwat, which oversees how much water companies in England and Wales can charge for services, and a new Ombudsman.
Earlier, water companies were slammed for making “dirty profits” as a minister failed to act over pay for one of the sector’s chiefs soaring over £1 million.
Ms Hardy criticised the pay hike for Southern Water’s chief executive despite rising bills and pollution of rivers.
She stressed water firms should “read the room” if they wanted to regain the trust of customers but stopped short of pledging further action to curb boardroom excesses in this sector.
But the Government faced accusations that it was allowing water bosses to continue to take customers for fools with their pay, company profits, and spiralling bills including from Thames Water in London.
Giles Bristow, Chief Executive, Surfers Against Sewage commented: “Let the water companies keep raking in dirty profits at our expense, and the electorate won’t forgive you.”
Mr Gosden, who has led Southern Water since 2022, was awarded £691,000 as part of a long-term incentive plan this year on top of his fixed pay of £687,000, according to the company’s annual report.
It is believed that he has only received half of this payment this year, taking his total pay to more than £1 million.
Ms Hardy said she would not support government intervention to cap pay in the private sector but made clear that public anger over the state of the industry should not be ignored.
“I don’t think as government we should say what private companies should pay,” she said.
“But I will say - read the room. Look how angry and furious people are.”
