The Latest Breaking News from Thames Water

David Black says water firms’ debt is ‘their issue to sort out’ because regulator did not have powers to tackle problem until recently

Plans will ramp up battle with unions; boss of water watchdog says higher water bills are coming to fund infrastructure improvements

Thames Water had shown a ‘deliberate attempt’ to mislead the Environment Agency over the incident

The firm has been fined £3.3m after more than 1,400 fish were killed when the sewage was dumped into the Gatwick Stream in Sussex and River Mole in Surrey in 2017

Thames Water’s woes are a sign that basic oversight of critical industries simply isn’t happening, says Nick Butler of King’s College London

Concerns raised after tests found stretch of river used for world-famous event had dangerous bacteria

WildFish charity says £56bn plan to reduce sewage dumping from storm overflows is illegal because it expects customers to foot bill

Untreated sewage was pumped into River Mole near Crawley for six and a half hours, turning water black

The privatisation of water companies in England and Wales was supposed to bring efficiency and investment to a vital sector that had been starved of public funding. But since 1989, the industry has failed to invest sufficiently in replacing antiquated pipes and sewage treatment systems.