Southern Water's former chief executive Matthew Wright has been charged with conspiracy to defraud the Environment Agency by allegedly manipulating wastewater treatment checks between 2012 and 2017, helping the company avoid at least 45 million pounds in penalties. Wright denies wrongdoing; Southern Water called the charges a "historic set of failures."
Wright, 60, is one of seven former Southern Water employees charged. The Environment Agency alleges they conspired to defraud the regulator and Ofwat by manipulating the company's Operator Self-Monitoring (OSM) compliance regime through artificially created "no-flow events" at treatment works between January 2012 and December 2017. Under the OSM system, water companies take their own samples from wastewater treatment works and report the results; where there is insufficient flow to obtain a sample, a "no-flow event" is recorded — and does not count as a compliance failure. The agency alleges artificial no-flow events were created to avoid failing environmental checks, conduct that could have enabled Southern Water to avoid penalties of at least £45 million.
Wright, who was Southern Water's chief executive from 2011 to 2016, appeared in person at Bromley Magistrates' Court on September 11 alongside former colleagues including Mark Gregory and Mark Butler, with four other defendants appearing by video link. District Judge Stephen Leake was satisfied the charges were related and sent the case to Maidstone Crown Court, where the defendants will appear on October 9; all seven were granted unconditional bail. Wright had argued the Environment Agency lacked the power to prosecute him for conspiracy to defraud, but his challenge was dismissed by the High Court. His lawyer said he denies all wrongdoing and has cooperated fully with the investigation.
Southern Water, which serves more than 4 million customers, said the charges related to "a historic set of failures" and that the individuals charged are no longer with the company: "These were uncovered through an internal company investigation in 2017. As soon as they were identified, Southern Water reported them to regulators, including the Environment Agency." The company has separately been charged with dozens of offences of failing to comply with environmental permit conditions linked to the same conduct.
The case lands amid intense public anger at privatised water companies over sewage discharges. Environment Secretary Angela Eagle said: "The public are rightly sick of environmental pollution — and attempting to cover it up is outrageous. Anyone found guilty of this crime will face the full force of the law." The government has committed to ending operator self-monitoring "to ensure this cannot happen again." The October 9 crown court hearing will set the course for one of the most significant environmental prosecutions in years.