Thames Water administration call from Lib Dem leader

The Liberal Democrats' leader Sir Ed Davey called for Thames Water to be put into special administration as he met one of his party's MPs and a local councillor to build a raft.

Sir Ed visited Dinton Pastures Country Park in Berkshire with Wokingham MP Clive Jones and Wokingham Council's executive member for the environment Katrin Harding and used the stunt to attack the water company's performance.

"Here in Berkshire, Thames Water's been shoving up people's bills... putting sewage into our rivers and not fixing leaks," Sir Ed said.

A Thames Water spokesperson said being placed into special administration would disrupt improvements it had made or was planning.

"It's really time that people were tougher on Thames Water and we think it's time to pull the plug and put them under administration," Sir Ed added.

Clive Jones, who was elected in 2024, said: "Today was to highlight that Thames Water is a sinking ship. That's exactly what they are.

"Financially, they are on their way to going bust.

"It needs to be restructured so we have a public interest company."

Thames Water said: "For us to continue to deliver billions of litres of clean water and take wastewater away from millions of homes, it's vital that we invest in our network and infrastructure over the next five years.

"We offer comprehensive support for customers struggling to pay their bill, rated among the best in the sector," they added.

"We're already helping around 450,000 customers pay their bills, and by 2030, one in ten households will be in receipt of support, including a discount of 50 per cent on their bill.

"We would encourage any customer who is concerned about their ability to pay to reach out to us so we can assess the right package of support for their circumstances."