Survation: UK Public Want Criminal Charges For Water Bosses

New polling from Survation shows that the public overwhelmingly back criminal charges for Water Bosses as well as bosses of Oil and Gas businesses, all which are seen as key perpetrators of pollution in the UK. 62% of the public supports them being held accountable in a court of law.¹

The polling showed that Water Companies are thought to be responsible for environmental damage by 71% of the public, and even more feel that fossil fuel companies (77%) and the CEO/ Executive Board of polluting companies (78%) are liable.

This week, a group of women went to the headquarters of Anglian Water, Yorkshire Water, South West Water, United Utilities, Wessex Water, Northumbrian Water, Severn Trent and Southern Water to hand each of the CEOs dossiers of evidence outlining how they are each responsible for extreme levels of pollution across Britain. The dossiers state that the levels of pollution equate to criminal public nuisance which affects the public's right to clean water.²³

Two of the CEOs (Mark Thurston of Anglian Water, and Ruth Jefferson of Wessex Water) were placed under Citizens Arrest by these women. One of their number, Sarah Melly, said:

“My bills are shooting up, my pay is stagnating, and my water is polluted. These bosses are rifling our pockets while they poison our families. If I did this, they’d put me in jail. But CEOs get rewarded with bonuses. The government is failing to protect us, so we’re having to do something about it ourselves.”

This comes off the back of a week of turmoil for water bosses in England, after a public backlash against predicted price rises as pollution surges. Today, the Competition and Markets Authority approved price rises for millions of UK households. This week the UK biggest ever environmental lawsuit over river pollution in the River Wye was announced. The lawsuit has over 4,000 people signed up and going against major poultry producers and a water company over allegations of "extensive and widespread pollution" in three rivers - the Wye, Lugg and Usk.⁴⁵

A spokesperson for Citizens Arrest Network today stated:

“This polling shows simmering public resentment against not just the oil, gas, and water polluters but the government failing to hold them accountable. When was poisoning our waterways whilst robbing us made legal? They are harming us and it’s not fair.”

“The government's measures to tackle pollution have failed, so we are pursuing prosecution against the CEOs responsible.”

There is a long and growing list of people in civil society, calling for accountability and the arrest of CEO’s of Water Companies for the damage they are doing to British water. These include Housing Communities and Local Government Minister Steve Reed MP, Aaron Bastani of Novara Media, Nick Ferrari of LBC and James Wallace of River Action.

The women who took action yesterday were calling for immediate prosecution of the Water Bosses. When fines are built into business models while criminal executives and their shareholders make huge sums of money, it’s overdue that prison is the consequence for such individuals. The public demands action.

Sources