GB News host Ben Leo has been left outraged at Thames Water, as new reports claim shareholders have asked for regulator OFWAT to increase customer bills by 40 per cent.
This comes as new data revealed raw sewage spills have amounted to almost four million hours of waste in 2023.
In discussion with his GB News panel, Ben revealed he has "no sympathy for the water companies" and expressed his concern for his young children swimming in the sea that is "being pumped with raw sewage".
Ben fumed: "I say it week in, week out. I live by the coast, the amount of times I've gone down there to swim in the sea with my young kids, and they're pumping raw sewage into the water, having had years to prepare for it..."
Ben Leo said he's 'had enough' of water companies
GB News / PA
Joined by Political Commentator Russell Quirk, Quirk was in agreement with Ben and said it is a "failure of the regulators" OFWAT and the government for not "making the companies invest in infrastructure".
Quirk explained: "What they've been doing clearly it is truth-less, that is the problem. I think all eyes should be on OFWAT and the fact that they've allowed this farce to continue for so long."
Arguing in defence of Britain's water companies, commentator Amy Nickell-Turner said the water industry was "always going to be doomed to fail" and called for the "nationalisation" of water companies, rather than it "being in the hands of foreign companies".
Nickell-Turner also defended the large salaries of "fat cat water bosses", claiming that "quite a few of the employees at Thames Water have only just started".
Thames Water shareholders have urged regulator OFWAT to increase customer bills by 40 per cent
PA
Nickell-Turner said: "Imagine being tasked with the company as it is right now. You need to renumerate bosses for what they're doing, and it's no easy feat, obviously, to take on a task like Thames Water at the moment."
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Ben was infuriated with Nickell-Turner's defence of Thames Water and reinstated his point that he has "no sympathy for the water companies".
He raged: "I've had enough of the lot - I've had enough of the railways, I've had enough of the water companies, nothing works.
"Prices go up, nothing works, service goes down. It's a disgrace. So if it means to renationalise it all, do it."
Quirk hit back at Ben's remarks, claiming: "Sorry Ben, but it will be worse. It will be worse if it's nationalised, because it was, 30, 40 years ago. There was no accountability whatsoever. Nationalisation is not the answer."
Russell Quirk said the 'failure is with the regulators'
GB News
Thames Water told GB News in a statement: "We'd like to reassure our customers that despite this announcement, it is business as usual for Thames Water.
"Our 8,000 staff remain committed to working with our partners in the supply chain to provide services for our benefit of our customers, communities and the environment."
