Consumers will get stronger protections with a new water watchdog – as trust in water companies takes a record dive.

Environment Secretary Steve Reed will announce on Monday that the government will set up the new water ombudsman with legal powers to resolve disputes, rather than the current voluntary system.

The watchdog will mean an expansion of the Consumer Council for Water’s (CCW) role and will bring the water sector into line with other utilities that have legally binding consumer watchdogs.

Consumers will then have a single point of contact for complaints.

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The Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said the new watchdog would help “re-establish partnership” between water companies and consumers.

A survey by the CCW in May found trust in water companies had reached a new low, with fewer than two-thirds of people saying they provided value for money.

Just 35% said they thought charges from water companies were fair – even before the impact could be felt from a 26% increase in bills in April.

Mr Reed is planning a “root and branch reform” of the water industry – which he branded “absolutely broken” – that he will reveal alongside a major review of the sector on Monday.

The review is expected to recommend the scrapping of water regulator Ofwat and the creation of a new one, to incorporate the work of the CCW.

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Campaigners and MPs have accused Ofwat of failing to hold water operators to account, while the companies complain a focus on keeping bills down has prevented appropriate infrastructure investment.

On Sunday, Mr Reed avoided answering whether he would get rid of Ofwat or not when asked on Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips.

He pledged to halve sewage pollution by water companies by 2030 and said Labour would eliminate unauthorised sewage spillages in a decade.

Mr Reed announced £104 billion of private investment to help the government do that.

Victoria Atkins MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, said: “While stronger consumer protections are welcome in principle, they are only one part of the serious long-term reforms the water sector needs.

“We all want the water system to improve, and honesty about the scale of the challenge is essential. Steve Reed must explain that bill payers are paying for the £104 billion investment plan. Ministers must also explain how replacing one quango with another is going to clean up our rivers and lakes.

“Public confidence in the water system will only be rebuilt through transparency, resilience, and delivery.”

England star Jess Carter says she has been the victim of racist abuse online during the UEFA Women’s Euros in Switzerland.

The Lionesses defender, who has 49 England caps, said she will be “taking a step back from social media and leaving it to a team to deal with”.

In an Instagram post, the 27-year-old player said: “From the start of the tournament, I have experienced a lot of racial abuse. Whilst I feel every fan is entitled to their opinion on performance and result, I don’t agree or think it’s ok to target someone’s appearance or race.”

Carter said she was stepping back from social media to “protect myself in a bid to keep my focus on helping the team anyway I can”.

She added: “Hopefully speaking out will make the people writing this abuse think twice so that others won’t have to deal with it.”

Carter also said that England have made some “historic changes with the Lionesses squad” that she was “so proud” of, and she hopes that by speaking out about racial abuse “it will make another positive change for all”.

‘Abhorrent abuse’

The Football Association leadership has condemned the “abhorrent abuse” against Carter and has contacted UK police about it.

FA chief executive Mark Bullingham said in a statement: “Our priority is Jess and giving her all the support she needs. We strongly condemn those responsible for this disgusting racism.

“As soon as we were made aware of the racist abuse Jess received, we immediately contacted UK police. They are in touch with the relevant social media platform, and we are working with police to ensure those responsible for this hate crime are brought to justice.”

The Lionesses said in a statement: “We stand with Jess and all Lionesses players past and present who have suffered racism.

“No one should have to endure such vile abuse, be that in football or any walk of life.”

They added: “Those behind this online poison must be held accountable.”

Anger and sadness

England teammate Lucy Bronze said there was “anger” and “sadness” among the squad following the abuse.

Bronze said: “I think we all know that any player of colour that’s played for England has probably gone through racist abuse. That’s a sad fact.”

She told Sky News’ sports correspondent Rob Harris that social media platforms need to be held more accountable.

Bronze added: “People need to be held accountable for their actions, whether it’s in-person or online. The abuse is not okay. Racism is not okay.”

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The prime minister said on X that there was “no place for racism in football or anywhere in society”.

Sir Keir Starmer added: “I stand with Jess, the Lionesses, and any players who have suffered racism, on and off the pitch.”

Carter has started all four of England’s games at the tournament.

The defending champions face Italy on Tuesday night in Geneva in the Euros semi-finals. If they win and reach the final, they will play either Germany or Spain, who face each other on Wednesday.

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The Lionesses also said that until now, they have chosen to take the knee before matches.

“It is clear we and football need to find another way to tackle racism,” they said.

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The Lionesses said they have agreed as a squad to remain standing before kick-off in the match against Italy.

“We hope the game can come together to see what more can be done.”

Kneeling, a symbolic anti-racism gesture, came to prominence in 2016 when NFL player Colin Kaepernick knelt in protest during the United States national anthem and became more widespread during the Black Lives Matter movement.

As head of football’s anti-racism body, there was dread for Sanjay Bhandari watching England’s Women’s Euros quarter-final with Sweden.

But that’s, grimly, how it always is. Concerned that black players will be singled out for blame. Not with a legitimate critique of their performances, but with toxicity and racism.

And now Kick It Out is working with the Football Association to support Jess Carter after the England defender spoke out over the abuse she has been targeted with throughout the Women’s European Championship.

The players want social media firms to do more, but Mr Bhandari, the Kick It Out chairman, is concerned by their limited approach to the scourge of online hate.

“The social media companies need to do far more,” he told Sky News. “They’ve actually gone backwards over the last four or five years, not forwards. It’s got worse on social media, not better.

“And they need to provide us with the tools to help keep us safe and to remove some of this toxicity from the platforms. They’re just not doing enough.

“I would say that X is the worst. It has become no-holds-barred.

“And with Instagram, it is much more in the direct messaging, and I think there needs to be much more done there to protect people from those messages.”

Meta, which owns Instagram, did not reply to a request for comment.

There was no response from an email sent to X’s press email address.

LinkedIn indicated that X’s UK managing director Jonathan Lewis’s account had seen a request for comment, but there was no response.

On Friday, Mr Lewis and Premier League club Burnley were celebrating a new partnership in an announcement that made no mention of the abuse that many players across the world face on X.

The hope is that the Online Safety Act will lead to social media firms implementing the safety tools required of them.

Mr Bhandari said: “They have to be enforced by law enforcement against individual perpetrators, and also the regulatory parts need to be forced against the social media companies to force them to do the things that they need to do.”

Grimly familiar situation

The FA reported the abuse suffered by Carter to police, and the hope is for speedy action because this is a grimly familiar situation.

After the men’s Euros final in 2021, Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka were racially abused after missing penalties in the shootout defeat to Italy.

While players have been taking a knee against racism in men’s and women’s games, the Lionesses feel that is no longer enough at these Euros.

They will stand instead before the semi-final with Italy because they say a new approach is needed to tackle racism.

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Carter didn’t just face racism around the quarter-final that England won on penalties after fighting back from 2-0 down against Sweden here in Zurich.

She has been subjected to abuse throughout the Euros.

“I’m really feeling for Jess and what’s sad is that this is shocking, but not surprising,” Mr Bhandari said.

“I watch every England game, at every tournament, with the fear that after the match, there’s going to be abuse of a black player using the spurious basis of performance as an excuse to justify unjustifiable racism. All racism is unjustifiable.

“The fact that someone’s had a good or bad game in your opinion does not justify that kind of racist abuse.”