Thames Water concerns: ‘Absolutely nothing’ will happen with customers’ bills, says minister
Thames Water customers have been assured that “absolutely nothing” will happen to their bills or supply, as the heavily indebted firm scrambles to raise cash from investors to prevent collapse.
Ministers have continued efforts to reassure the public as Britain’s biggest water company struggles under a £14bn debt pile, with the government said to be laying the groundwork for the firm’s emergency nationalisation.
Health minister Neil O’Brien told Sky News: “They are still in the process of finding further resources from their own shareholders and that’s the first place they should look to, obviously.
“Of course the government does have contingency plans if this does become a problem.”
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Mr O’Brien refused to say if the utility firm could be taken into public ownership as a last resort, insisting he was “not able” to reveal what the contingency plans are.
But in a message to Thames Water customers he said that whatever the outcome: “Absolutely nothing is going to happen in terms of either their bills or their access to water, we have contingency plans – like we do in all of these network utilities – to manage any difficult situations.”
Several reports on Thursday suggested concerns about Thames Water’s finances had now broadened to other firms in the industry.
Industry regulator Ofwat responded: “Over the last day or so, there has been a lot of commentary about financial resilience in the water sector with considerable focus on Thames Water in particular.”
It added: “Overall, the sector is continuing to attract international capital and is especially attractive to long term investors such as pension funds. Indeed, there has been an additional equity injection of around £2bn since 2020, with companies acting to strengthen their financial position.
“Ofwat will continue to keep companies’ financial resilience under close scrutiny and work with companies to ensure they take action to ensure that they have the financial backing to deliver for customers and the environment.”
On Wednesday, Thames Water said it was working “constructively” with shareholders to secure extra cash.
The company, which serves 15 million households, said that it needs “further equity funding” on top of the £500m it raised just three months ago.
The statement came after Sky News revealed the government is discussing placing Thames Water into a special administration regime (SAR) that would effectively take the company into temporary public ownership if it collapses.
Such an insolvency process is rare and was used when the energy supplier Bulb collapsed in 2021, sparking concerns that it could cost taxpayers billions of pounds.
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Rebecca Pow, the water minister, did not say how much a government bailout could cost when pressed on the matter by Labour in the Commons.
She insisted the water sector as a whole is “financially resilient” and the government is confident that Ofwat is “working closely with any company that would be facing financial stress”.
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Kemi Badenoch, the business secretary, admitted she is “very concerned” by the situation.
Thames Water – owned by a consortium of pension funds and sovereign wealth funds – has come under pressure in recent years over its poor performance in tackling leaks and sewage contamination, while facing criticism for handing out big rewards to top bosses and shareholders.
On Tuesday, Thames Water chief executive Sarah Bentley stepped down with immediate effect amid mounting worries over the financial stability of the company and criticism of her £1.6m pay packet despite the company’s environmental performance.
The Pope has said he is “deeply saddened” by the deaths of three people in an Israeli strike on the only Catholic church in Gaza.
A further nine people were wounded when the Gaza’s Holy Family Church was hit, the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem said in a statement.
“On behalf of the entire Church of the Holy Land, we extend our deepest condolences to the bereaved families, and from here, we offer our prayers for the swift and full recovery of the wounded,” the statement reads.
“The Latin Patriarchate strongly condemns this tragedy and this targeting of innocent civilians and of a sacred place.
“However, this tragedy is not greater or more terrible than the many others that have befallen Gaza.”
Parish priest Father Gabriele Romanelli, an Argentinian who used to regularly update the late Pope Francis about the conflict in Gaza, was lightly injured in the attack.
Parish priest of the Church of the Holy Family, father Gabriele Romanelli, receives medical attention.
Pic: Reuters
In a telegram for the victims, Pope Leo said he was “deeply saddened” and called for “an immediate ceasefire”.
The Pope expressed his “profound hope for dialogue, reconciliation and enduring peace in the region,” according to the telegram, which was signed by the Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin.
Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, told the Vatican News website that the church was shelled by a tank.
“What we know for sure is that a tank, the IDF says by mistake, but we are not sure about this, they hit the Church directly, the Church of the Holy Family, the Latin Church”, he said
The church was sheltering both Christians and Muslims, including a number of children with disabilities, according to Fadel Naem, acting director of Al-Ahli Hospital, which received the wounded.
Pope Leo XIV. File pic: Reuters
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said it was “aware of reports regarding damage caused to the Holy Family Church in Gaza City and casualties at the scene. The circumstances of the incident are under review”.
“The IDF makes every feasible effort to mitigate harm to civilians and civilian structures, including religious sites,
and regrets any damage caused to them,” the statement added.
Israel’s foreign ministry said in a statement on X that the results of the investigation would be published.
It also said the country did not target churches or religious sites and regretted harm to them or civilians.
The previous pope, Francis, spoke almost daily with Gaza church. In the last 18 months of his life, Francis would often call the church in the Gaza Strip to see how people huddled inside were coping with a devastating war.
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At least 20 more people were killed on Thursday by Israeli attacks across the besieged enclave, medics said.
Throughout the 21-month war, more than 58,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israel’s military campaign, according to Gaza’s health ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count.
Israel launched a retaliatory campaign against Hamas following the militant group’s 7 October 2023 attacks, during which 1,200 people were killed and about 250 taken hostage.
World
Syria’s president vows to protect Druze population after Israel airstrikes – as new ceasefire begins
Syria’s president has said protecting the rights of the Druze population is “our priority” after Israel warned it would destroy forces attacking the minority.
In a televised statement early today, Ahmed al Sharaa told the Druze “we reject any attempt to drag you into hands of an external party”.
Several hundred people have reportedly been killed this week in the south of Syria in violence involving local fighters, government authorities and Bedouin tribes.
Following the president’s announcement and a ceasefire agreement, Syrian government forces on Thursday largely withdrew from the volatile southern province of Sweida.
Under the terms of the agreement, Druze factions and clerics have been appointed to maintain internal security.
As the violence escalated in Sweida, Israel launched airstrikes, including attacks on Wednesday on the defence ministry in Damascus and a target near the presidential palace.
Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has pledged to “act resolutely against any terrorist threat on its borders”.
The Druze population follow an offshoot of Islam and are estimated to number about one million, spread between Syria, Lebanon and Israel.
Sharaa – Syria’s interim leader after President Assad fled last year – gave a televised statement on Wednesday telling the Druze “we reject any attempt to drag you into hands of an external party”.
“We are not among those who fear the war,” he added.
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Moment Israel strikes Syrian military HQ
“We have spent our lives facing challenges and defending our people, but we have put the interests of the Syrians before chaos and destruction,” said the president.
He also claimed Israel has “consistently targeted our stability and created discord among us since the fall of the former regime”.
Israel has accused the Syrian regime of being barely disguised jihadists – despite warming ties with Western countries such as the UK and US.
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The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said, as of Wednesday morning, more than 300 people had been killed in the flare-up of violence.
Around 1,000 Druze people broke through a fence into southern Syria on Wednesday in a bid to help, according to The Times of Israel.
Prime Minister Netanyahu urged people not to cross into Syria and Israeli military chief of staff Eyal Zamir warned they would not “allow southern Syria to become a terror stronghold”.
The UN Security Council will discuss the situation today, despite the US secretary of state saying yesterday that America had brokered an end to the violence.
“We have engaged all the parties involved in the clashes in Syria,” Marco Rubio said on social media.
“We have agreed on specific steps that will bring this troubling and horrifying situation to an end tonight.”
Syrian soldiers were seen pulling out of Sweida overnight. Pic: Reuters
The intervention appeared to have an immediate effect.
The situation was calm on Thursday morning, according to Reuters sources in the area.
A sex scandal has rocked Thailand’s Buddhist clergy after a woman allegedly enticed a string of monks into having sex with her and then blackmailed them.
At least nine abbots and senior monks have been disrobed and cast out of the monkhood, the Royal Thai Police Central Investigation Bureau said.
Wilawan Emsawat, in her mid-30s, is accused of enticing senior monks into having sex with her and then pressuring them into making large payments to cover it up.
Thai monks are largely members of the Theravada sect, which requires them to be celibate and refrain from even touching a woman.
Several monks transferred large amounts of money after Wilawan initiated romantic relationships with them, police said -her bank accounts received around 385 million baht (£8.8m) in the past three years, with most of that spent on gambling websites.
Wilawan was arrested at her home in Nonthaburi province, north of the capital Bangkok, on charges including extortion, money laundering and receiving stolen goods.
Thai media reported a search of her mobile phones revealed tens of thousands of photos and videos, as well as numerous chat logs indicating intimacy with several monks, many of which could be used for blackmail.
Thailand’s Central Investigation Bureau holding a press conference in Bangkok. Pic: Central Investigation Bureau/AP
An investigation was launched last month after an abbot of a famous temple in Bangkok abruptly left the monkhood.
He had allegedly been blackmailed by Wilawan over their romantic relationship, investigators found.
She told the monk she was pregnant and asked him to pay her 7.2 million baht (£165,000), Jaroonkiat Pankaew, a Central Investigation Bureau deputy commissioner, said at a news conference in Bangkok on Tuesday.
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Acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai ordered authorities to review and consider tightening existing laws related to monks and temples, especially the transparency of temple finances, to restore faith in Buddhism, government spokesperson Jirayu Houngsub said on Tuesday.
The Central Investigation Bureau has set up a Facebook page for people to report monks who misbehave, Mr Jaroonkiat said.
“We will investigate monks across the country,” he said. “I believe that the ripple effects of this investigation will lead to a lot of changes.”
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