Rivers — UPDATES — Monica Harding

Dominic Raab MP fails to turn up to Parliament for crucial vote to criminalise water companies for sewage spills

On Wednesday, Conservative MPs voted against a new law which would have seen water companies in court for sewage spills.

Esher and Walton MP Dominic Raab, who has taken on two lucrative jobs since the start of this year, wasn’t in Parliament for the debate.

The vote in Parliament took place on the same day a BBC report found sewage had been illegally dumped in the UNESCO protected Lake Windermere in the Lake District.

Sewage pollution in the River Mole at Esher trebles in a year

New figures released by the Environment Agency show that Thames Water discharged sewage into the River Mole a staggering 350 times in 2023. A quarter of these discharges occurred at just one site - at Esher - where the sewage outflow was in operation for three times as many hours as in 2022.

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