Mogden: "Court Action Welcome, But Not Enough" says Twickenham MP

9.01.00pm GMT Tue 16th Nov 2004

Vincent Cable MP welcomed the action of a District Judge in Feltham in imposing an order abatement notice on Thames Water but said that "without an intervention by government to define what water companies have to achieve, and without a commitment to new investment, the court notice could be only of limited value. I welcome the efforts to secure legal action but we could find in two years time that Thames Water get a slap on the wrist and a small fine and continue as before.

"I shall press ministers to impose a clear set of regulatory objectives as regards sewage operations since at present there is a set of problems which have never been properly addressed: odour, sewage flooding, as in Hampton Hill, and the dumping of sewage waste into the river. We need clear rules, priorities and funding arrangements, none of which are currently in place."