A £10bn investment from water companies to stop sewage spills will be paid for by customers through “modest increases to their bills”.
Ruth Kelly, chair of Water UK, told Sky News that water firms will provide a “huge multi-billion down-payment” to start “thebiggest transformation project since Victorian times”.
She added: “The way the system works is that over the lifetime of the assets, customers do pay that money back in modest increases in their bills.”
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Sewage spill filmed in Cornwall in October 2022
Ms Kelly said that over the last 10 years, water bills have fallen for most people and “research shows us that customers are prepared to pay a little bit more to see this sort of investment undertaken”.
Speaking to BBC Breakfast, she said customers will be contributing to the works for 50 years “or perhaps even longer, maybe up to 100 years”.
But critics have questioned why firms aren’t paying to fix the problems themselves, with musician and clean river campaigner Feargal Sharkey saying the announcement is “nothing to celebrate whatsoever”.
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Asked why customers are having to put their hands in their pockets when water companies paid £1.4 billion in dividends last year, Ms Kelly told Sky’s Ian King “dividends have been at very low levels compared to other sectors”.
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Raw sewage: Who’s to blame?
She added: “As a sign of the seriousness with which the companies are taking this issue,all water company CEOs have come together and they said they’re not going to pay a single penny in bonuses out of customer funds this year.”
Sewage spills won’t be entirely eliminated
There were 301,091 sewage spills in 2022 in England, an average of 824 a day, according to Environment Agency figures.
Water UK said the £10bn comes in addition to a previous commitment to invest £3.1bn, and will be spent this decade.
This will pay for measures including enlarging and improving pipes and installing the equivalent of thousands of Olympic-sized swimming pools underground to hold surges in rainwater that would otherwise overload the system.
The package aims to cut sewage overflows by up to 140,000 each year, compared with 2020 levels.
However, Ms Kelly admitted sewage spills won’t be stopped completely because of the Victorian-era design of the system.
“You wouldn’t design a system like that today, but that is the system we’ve got. And it is going to take time to put that right,” she said.
“We won’t get to a situation where they [sewage spills] all disappear but we are going to make a dramatic impact on the harm by spills.”
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Drone video shows sewage outflow into harbour in October 2021
The leader of the Liberal Democrats, Ed Davey, said Water UK’s apology and plans “don’t go far enough”.
“For years water companies have arrogantly dismissed the public’s fears of rivers, lakes and coastlines being damaged by sewage discharges,” he said.
“This announcement does nothing to match the billions water firms have paid out in dividends to overseas investors, or stop their CEO’s being handed multi-million pound bonuses.”
Mr Davey, whose party made significant gains in the local elections after putting sewage dumping at the heart of their campaign, also called on Environment Secretary Therese Coffey to apologise.
He said: “This Conservative government has been pathetic on stopping sewage discharges into rivers, and every Conservative MP owes their constituents an apology for voting against tougher action. It says a lot when profiteering polluters have the decency to apologise, yet the government refuse.”
Five survivors have been rescued and four bodies recovered in efforts to find people missing after a tourist boat sank in the Red Sea, a local official has said.
Two British people are believed to have been among the missing.
Egyptian military forces, which are co-ordinating operations, have now rescued 37 people out of the 44 on board – including five the day after it capsized. It means seven people are still missing and rescue teams have been “intensifying efforts” to find them.
Governor of the Red Sea region Amr Hanafi said that two Belgians, one Swiss, one Finnish and one Egyptian national were rescued on Tuesday, and four bodies had been recovered – although their nationalities are unknown.
“Survivors are being provided with necessary medical care,” he said in a statement on Facebook.
The 34-metre-long tourist boat Sea Story sank on Monday south of the Egyptian coastal town of Marsa Alam.
Among the foreign nationals on board were those from the UK, Ireland, US, Germany, Poland, Belgium, Switzerland, Finland, China, Slovakia and Spain.
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According to those on board, a “high sea wave” hit the vessel and caused it to capsize in “about five or seven minutes”, Mr Hanafi said.
Some passengers were inside the cabins, “which is why they couldn’t get out of the boat,” his statement added.
A Foreign, Commonwealth and Development office spokesperson said on Monday: “We are providing consular support to a number of British nationals and their families following an incident in Egypt and are in contact with the local authorities.”
The Sea Story left Port Ghalib, 40 miles (63km) north of Marsa Alam, on Sunday and was scheduled to reach its destination of Hurghada Marina on 29 November.
Officials said a distress call was received at 5.30am local time on Monday.
The boat sank 46 nautical miles off the coast of Marsa Alam.
The incident comes after the Egyptian Meteorological Authority issued a warning on Saturday about turbulence and high waves on the Red Sea.
The firm that operates the yacht, Dive Pro Liveaboard in Hurghada, said it has no information on the matter.
The Chamber of Diving and Water Sports (CDWS), a group founded by Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism, praised rescue teams for their “tireless efforts”.
“The CDWS team and board members are praying that the missing passengers are found safely and hoping that they will reunite with their families and loved ones soon,” the statement on Facebook added.
Donald Trump has threatened sweeping new tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China on his first day in office.
The president-elect, who takes office on 20 January next year, said he would introduce a 25% tax on all products entering the country from Canada and Mexico.
Posting on his Truth Social platform he also threatened an additional 10% tariff on goods from China on top of any he might impose as one of his first executive orders.
If implemented, the tariffs could raise prices for ordinary American consumers on everything from petrol to cars and agricultural products.
The US is the largest importer of goods worldwide and Mexico, China and Canada are its top three suppliers according to the country’s census data.
More than 83% of exports from Mexico went to the US in 2023 and 75% of Canadian exports go to the country.
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“On January 20th, as one of my many first Executive Orders, I will sign all necessary documents to charge Mexico and Canada a 25% Tariff on ALL products coming into the United States, and its ridiculous Open Borders,” Mr Trump said.
He also spoke against an influx of illegal immigrants heading into the country.
While migrant arrests reached a record high during President Joe Biden’s administration, illegal crossings fell dramatically this year as new border restrictions were introduced and Mexico stepped up enforcement.
Mr Trump added: “Both Mexico and Canada have the absolute right and power to easily solve this long simmering problem. We hereby demand that they use this power… and until such time that they do, it is time for them to pay a very big price!”
After issuing his tariff threat, Mr Trump spoke with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and they were said to have discussed trade and border security.
“It was a good discussion and they will stay in touch,” a Canadian source said.
Turning to China, the president-elect said he “had many talks with China about the massive amounts of drugs, in particular Fentanyl, being sent into the United States – But to no avail”.
“Until such time as they stop, we will be charging China an additional 10% Tariff, above any additional Tariffs, on all of their many products coming into the United States of America,” he wrote.
The Chinese Embassy in Washington said there would be losers on all sides if there is a trade war.
“China-US economic and trade cooperation is mutually beneficial in nature,” embassy spokesman Liu Pengyu posted on X. “No one will win a trade war or a tariff war.”
It is not clear if Mr Trump will actually go through with the threats.
He won the recent election in part due to voter frustration over inflation and high prices.
Mr Trump’s nominee for treasury secretary Scott Bessent – who if confirmed, would be one of a number of officials responsible for tariffs – has said previously that tariffs are a means of negotiation.
Conor McGregor has spoken out after losing a civil rape case as a feminist march was held in Dublin.
The MMA fighter was accused of raping Nikita Hand, who was awarded €248,603 (£206,000) in damages on Friday after a jury at Dublin’s High Court found McGregor assaulted her in a Dublin hotel in 2018.
Posting on social media, the 36-year-old said: “I know I made mistakes”.
It comes as hundreds of people in Dublin staged a demonstration in “utter solidarity” with Ms Hand.
Posting on X, McGregor said: “People want to hear from me, I needed time. I know I made mistakes. Six years ago, I should have never responded to her outreaches. I should have shut the party down. I should never have stepped out on the woman I love the most in the world. That’s all on me.
“As much as I regret it, everything that happened that night was consensual and all the witnesses present swore to that under oath. I have instructed my legal team to appeal the decision.
“I can’t go back and I will move forward. I am beyond grateful to my family, friends and supporters all over the world who have stayed by my side.
“That’s it. No more. Getting back to the gym- the fight game awaits!”
Speaking outside court after the decision, an emotional Ms Hand said the two-week-long civil case had been a “nightmare” but that “justice has been served”.
“It’s something that I’ll never forget for the rest of my life,” she added.
In Dublin on Monday night, a march in support of Ms Hand was organised by the socialist feminist movement group Rosa to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.
Participants chanted “stand with Nikita” and “no more fear, no more shaming, we reject your victim blaming” as they carried signs and banners through the capital’s streets.
Ruth Coppinger, a councillor and general election candidate, and Natasha O’Brien, who became a public figure after a soldier received a suspended sentence for assaulting her, both spoke at the event.
Ms Coppinger said Ms Hand was “an incredibly brave woman” and that she was watching the event via a live stream.
Ms O’Brien was cheered as she said she’d been “in awe” of Ms Hand’s courage and that Ireland had let out a collective “sigh of relief” after the jury found in Ms Hand’s favour.
McGregor was accused of having “brutally raped and battered” Ms Hand.
She was taken in an ambulance to the Rotunda Hospital the following day where the paramedic who assessed her told the court she had not seen “someone so bruised” in a long time.
Following eight days of evidence, and three days of closing speeches and the judge’s instructions to the jury, the jury of eight women and four men spent six hours and ten minutes deliberating before returning their verdict.