'Thames Water should be nationalised', as company recalled before MP's
A Parliamentary Committee will question Thames Water bosses today
An Oxfordshire MP is once again calling for Thames Water to be put into special administration, as the company has been called back to appear before MPs today.
A Parliamentary Committee will question Thames Water bosses today, after it emerged that £2.5 million of bonuses handed out to executives cannot be recovered by regulators.
They’ll also be asked why a £4 billion rescue plan from a private investor has been dropped.
Charlie Maynard, Liberal Democrat MP for Witney says “we need to put this company into bankruptcy.”
He said: “I've been campaigning for months and years. I think they should go in special administration because a lot of this is about the money, and we have a totally unsustainable situation. It's got just over a billion of cash flow and somewhere between £20-23 billion of debt.”
He added: “I want the government to act and they're not acting. Everything apart from special administration to me, is smoke and mirrors and noise.”
A Government spokesperson said: "The Government will always act in the national interest on these issues.
"The company remains financially stable, but the Government has stepped up our preparations and stand ready for all eventualities, including special administration regime if that were to become necessary."
Thames Water Bosses to be questioned by MP’s:
In a letter to the cross-party Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (EFRA) Committee, Ofwat confirmed that a payment already made in April under a controversial "retention" scheme does not come within the scope of new rules that can ban water firms from paying out bonuses.
Thames Water paused plans in May to pay 21 senior bosses £18.5 million in bonuses linked to the water company securing a £3 billion emergency loan following outcry from the EFRA Committee.
However, it was also revealed that the first of three payments under the scheme totalling £2.5 million had already been handed out on April 30 to senior executives.
This did not include Thames Water chairman Sir Adrian Montague, chief executive Chris Weston or chief financial officer Steve Buck.
Ofwat chief executive David Black confirmed in a letter to the EFRA Committee published for the first time that, as none of those handed the bonuses were on the water firm's board, "the payments made on April 30 2025 are not within the scope of the rule".
The committee has recalled Thames Water bosses for further questioning over the so-called "management retention plan".
Private investor firm, KKR dropped plans to inject much-needed cash into the troubled supplier last month, but has not confirmed its reasons for the move.
The committee had made a request to Sir Adrian for minutes of board meetings relating to KKR, but this was refused by Thames Water, as he said it could jeopardise current talks over an alternative rescue plan.
He instead offered a private meeting with Mr Carmichael.
Mr Carmichael wrote in response: "A private briefing is not appropriate in these circumstances, nor does it meet the standards of transparency we seek to uphold on this committee."
The committee has also written to KKR with questions over its withdrawal from a takeover of Thames Water.
A Defra spokesperson said: "Water company bosses, like anyone else, should only get bonuses if they've performed well, certainly not if they've failed to tackle water pollution.
"Undeserved bonuses for bosses have now been banned as part of the Government's plan to clean up our rivers, lakes and seas for good.
"As the independent regulator, we expect Ofwat to continue to examine any evidence of companies trying to circumvent the new rules and take appropriate enforcement action as necessary."