Thames Water collapse will hit taxpayers, MP warns

Taxpayers volition beryllium exposed to the debts and moving costs of Thames Water if the authorities has to instrumentality it over, the Business Committee seat has said.

The UK's largest h2o company, which serves a 4th of the UK population, is successful talks to unafraid other backing arsenic it struggles to wage its debts.

On Wednesday, the authorities said it was acceptable to enactment successful a worst lawsuit script if the institution collapsed.

Regardless of what happens, h2o supplies volition proceed arsenic normal.

Speaking to BBC Breakfast, Labour MP Darren Jones, the seat of the Business and Trade Committee, said that if the authorities was forced to instrumentality implicit the moving of Thames Water, "taxpayers volition beryllium exposed to the indebtedness and moving costs of a precise ample company".

He said that the problems seen astatine vigor companies successful caller years showed that: "We person to instrumentality connected the outgo of moving these failed businesses, which is wherefore it's truthful galling for taxpayers erstwhile they spot that regulators and minsters person failed to spot this occupation earlier it each blew up."

On Wednesday, the authorities said "a batch of enactment is going connected down the scenes" with Thames Water and it had a process successful spot "if necessary".

Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch said she was "very concerned" by the situation, adding "we request to marque definite Thames Water arsenic an entity survives".

Thames Water has travel successful for beardown disapproval implicit its show pursuing a bid of sewage discharges and leaks. The steadfast leaks much h2o than immoderate different h2o institution successful UK, losing the equivalent of up to 250 Olympic size swimming pools each time from its pipes.

Thames Water has said it is trying to rise the currency it needs, and is keeping h2o regulator Ofwat informed connected progress, and that it inactive had "strong" currency and borrowing reserves to gully on.

But the steadfast is understood to beryllium struggling to rise the wealth it needs to work its important indebtedness pile, which is astir £14bn. Interest payments connected much than fractional of its indebtedness are linked to the complaint of inflation, which has soared implicit the past year.

If the steadfast cannot unafraid further funding, it could beryllium temporarily taken implicit by the authorities until a caller purchaser is found, successful a peculiar medication authorities (SAR). This way was astir precocious taken with vigor supplier Bulb aft it ran into fiscal difficulties.

On Tuesday, Thames Water's chief enforcement Sarah Bentley discontinue the business aft conscionable 2 years successful the job. It came weeks aft she was asked to forgo her bonus implicit the company's handling of sewage spills.