Arabic version: توجيه اتهامات إلى الرئيس السابق لشركة ساوثرن ووتر بشأن مزاعم التلاعب بالاختبارات

According to BBC News, former Southern Water chief executive Matthew Wright has been charged alongside three other former employees over allegations of a plan to manipulate water-quality tests and avoid financial penalties of about £45m.

Wright is accused of conspiring to defraud the Environment Agency (EA) and water regulator Ofwat between 2012 and 2017. Philip Barker, Clive Massey and Mark Gregory also face the allegation. Court documents say the alleged conduct included arranging for wastewater to be removed by tankers to create “no flow” results at wastewater treatment works.

Prosecutors allege this was intended to cover up pollution and deceive bodies responsible for protecting the public. Under the operator self-monitoring scheme, treated effluent is tested during unannounced annual visits. If discharge flow is insufficient for a sample, it is not regarded as a fail and no further samples are taken during that testing period.

Wright challenged the EA’s power to issue a summons, but two senior judges dismissed his claim. Lord Justice Popplewell said the allegations involved “very serious allegations of criminal misconduct”, including alleged planned fraud and dishonesty at a high level within the company. Wright’s solicitor said he denies all wrongdoing and has co-operated fully with the EA investigation.

Southern Water said the four men no longer worked for the company and that the charges concerned historic failures identified in an internal investigation in 2017. The company said it reported the issues to regulators once identified, apologised, and was now “a completely different company” from a decade ago. Court listings also show Southern Water has separately been charged with dozens of alleged environmental permit offences between 2013 and 2017.