Fury as Thames Water boss defends £195,000 bonus amid sewage crisis

Thames Water’s chief executive has defended his decision to accept a £195,000 bonus just three months into the job last year. It comes as the boss of the under-fire firm, which supplies 16 million customers, warned it may have to impose restrictions this summer after the dry spring.

MPs grilled Chris Weston in Parliament on Tuesday amid fury over the state of the nation’s waterways and concerns for the debt-laden firm’s future. When asked by MPs if it was wise to accept such a large bonus last year so soon into the job at the struggling water company, Mr Weston said: “I think in the first three months I did make a difference.

“I started to put in place the new organisational structure, I started to give people confidence and reassurance about how proud they could be of the job they did and what we were setting out to do.

“And that helped stabilise the company and I think that was important.”

The bonus forms part of an up to £2.3million a year pay package.

Speaking on Tuesday, Mr Weston added that when he joined Thames it had “lost direction a bit”.

“I was the fifth chief executive in five years … that creates a confusion for people in the company.”

“I think it required clearer direction, which I have given. Sixteen months in I’m quite pleased with the progress we’re making.

“It is a big ship to turn around. It is very difficult.”

Mr Weston said the company was “doing all we need to” to prepare for water shortages this year after the Environment Agency warned of the potential risk of drought this summer following the driest start to spring in England for 61 years.

He also said the firm’s leakage rate was 569 million litres a day, which is “a huge amount” but was coming down slowly, while pollution incidents were up, which he accepted was unacceptable.

Meanwhile the firm’s chairman Sir Adrian Montague apologised for “letting customers down” in recent years and at times causing people “real hardship”.

He also warned the company was five weeks away from running out of money at points in 2024, describing the situation as “hair-raising”.

Thames, which has £19billion of debt, secured a £3billion rescue loan to avoid coming under government control earlier this year.