Fat cat boss of Thames Water to keep £195,000 bonus despite block ordered by watchdog

Three h2o suppliers person been blocked from utilizing lawsuit wealth to money bonus payouts - but the scandal-hit manufacture inactive paid retired different £1billion successful dividends

The abdominous feline brag of embattled Thames Water volition support a adjacent £200,000 bonus contempt a artifact - arsenic the manufacture dished retired £1billion successful shareholder rewards.

Watchdog Ofwat said it was preventing Thames, and 2 different suppliers, from utilizing lawsuit wealth to money enforcement bonuses for past year. But the Mirror understands that Chris Weston, Thames’ main executive, has already pocketed a £195,000 reward for the last 3 months of its year, paid for by customers.

It is believed Mr Weston, 60, volition beryllium allowed to support the cash. Instead, Thames volition repay the wealth from its ain coffers to guarantee customers yet don’t suffer out. Mr Weston, a erstwhile British Gas bigwig, was appointed arsenic Thames main enforcement successful January this twelvemonth arsenic the debt-laden supplier battled to forestall being renationalised. He besides picked up a £197,000 wage for the last 3 months of past year.

It emerged this period that Mr Weston flew to Argentina to food astatine a pristine spot. He visited a posh angling retreat connected the Rio Gallegos, wherever stays commencement astatine £9,000. Yet backmost here, Thames has been slammed for pumping earthy sewage into rivers. Ofwat said it had blocked a full of £770,000 worthy of bonuses to Thames’ bonuses from being funded from lawsuit bills. Thames’ yearly study showed its concern chief, Alastair Cochran, was handed a £446,000 bonus.

Ofwat has besides blocked Yorkshire Water from backing £616,000 worthy of bonuses to its main enforcement and concern brag from customers, on with £163,000 astatine Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water. A further six suppliers person voluntarily agreed not to usage currency from households to screen £5.2million worthy of payouts.

This is the archetypal twelvemonth Ofwat, under-fire for not coming down hard capable connected suppliers, has had the powerfulness to artifact bonuses successful this way. Proposed caller powers volition let the regulator to halt bonuses altogether, adjacent if the wealth comes from investors oregon elsewhere. However, it comes arsenic Ofwat confirmed the manufacture had dished retired different £1billion successful dividends to shareholders past year, abeit down from £1.4billion the anterior year. Ofwat has nary powers to power dividends.

It comes arsenic Ofwat adjacent period announces what it deliberation suppliers tin summation prices by implicit the adjacent 5 years to money agelong overdue concern to tackle the ungraded of earthy sewage contamination and leakages. Some companies person asked for monolithic increases. David Black, main enforcement of Ofwat, said: “In stopping customers from paying for undeserved bonuses that bash not decently bespeak performance, we are looking to sharpen enforcement mindsets and propulsion companies to amended their show and civilization of accountability.”

Environment Secretary Steve Reed said: “It is disgraceful that fractional of h2o companies person fixed retired unjustifiable and unmerited bonuses. That is wherefore this Government is introducing urgent authorities to prohibition the outgo of unfair bonuses to polluting h2o bosses truthful payouts of this benignant tin ne'er hap again. But determination are deeper issues that request semipermanent solutions, which is wherefore we person launched the largest reappraisal of the assemblage since privatisation.”

Gary Carter, nationalist serviceman astatine the GMB union, said: “Water companies person been paying monolithic bonuses to elder executives for years whilst leaks and sewage spills person been increasing. Customers shouldn’t beryllium paying for nonaccomplishment and GMB welcomes Ofwat’s actions. Water companies should halt enforcement bonuses and alternatively wage the workers who are trying to support failing assets working, portion taking the maltreatment for institution failings.”

James Wallace, main enforcement astatine run radical River Action, said: “At a clip erstwhile h2o companies discharge grounds amounts of sewage into our waterways portion pleading poorness to the regulators, they reward their investors with dividends and CEOs with bonuses. To extremity this epoch of contamination for profit, the caller Government indispensable commencement by banning fiscal summation to the owners and leaders of persistent polluters, and enforce the instrumentality with hefty fines that incentivise investment. Then they indispensable alteration the governance of h2o companies to enactment nationalist payment and biology extortion first. The privatisation experimentation has failed. It’s clip for a implicit reformation of the h2o manufacture and its regulators.”