Environment secretary declines to join water firms in apologising for sewage spills

Shadow environment secretary, Jim McMahon, last week called on environment secretary, Therese Coffey, to join the water industry in apologising to the public for sewage pollution in rivers. He said in the Commons: “Given her own track record, more recently and previously as water minister, overseeing a doubling of sewage dumping, will she now do the right thing and apologise?”

Coffey declined, citing the Welsh Labour government record on discharges and the fact that the Conservatives insisted on storm overflow monitoring. She responded: “Frankly, it is Labour members and previous Labour ministers who should hang their heads in shame about looking the other way.”