Water regulator fat-cats rake in £1.4million as Thames Water on brink of collapse and Britons face soaring costs

The TaxPayers’ Alliance also confirmed eight of the nine received bonuses valued between £5,000 and £15,000.

The quango’s then interim chief executive David Black, who now holds down the role full-time, received a whopping £220,000.

Senior directors Lisa Commane and Aileen Armstrong cashed in on £190,000 and £170,000 respectively.

General-counsel and board secretary Jenny Block meanwhile earned £180,000.

John Russell’s £160,000, Claire Forbes’ £155,000, Keith Mason’s £120,000, Emma Kelso’s £115,000 and Alena Kozakova’s £100,000 helped bring the overall figure above £1.4million.

TPA researcher Jonathan Eida told GB News: “Households will be shocked by these sky-high salaries.

“And with taxpayers now facing the possibility of picking up the tab for Thames Water’s enormous debts, questions will be raised about the regulator’s role in this sorry situation.

“Ofwat needs to get its act together and ensure that the water industry is properly regulated.”

Ofwat receives most of its funding from the water companies it regulates.

Parliament holds the quango accountable for its expenditure, with the Treasury, National Audit Office and Public Accounts Committee all having the ability to request information.

The TPA’s investigation comes as Ofwat faces growing pressure about its ability to provide regulatory oversight.

The Government is currently drawing up plans to potentially renationalise Thames Water after the company revealed it needs “further equity funding” to top up the half-billion pounds it raised just three months ago.

Thames Water, which serves 15 million households, added in a statement: "Thames Water received the expected £500million of new funding from its shareholders in March 2023 and is continuing to work constructively with its shareholders in relation to the further equity funding expected to be required to support Thames Water's turnaround and investment plans.

"Ofwat is being kept fully informed on progress of the company's turnaround and engagement with shareholders."

Thames Water suffered a further blow earlier this week when chief executive Sarah Bentley resigned with immediate effect amid criticism of her £1.6million pay packet and the company’s inability to tackle several major issues.

Responding to the crisis, Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch: “I am very concerned. Obviously this is a commercially sensitive situation and I know that my colleagues across Government are looking at what we can do.”

She added: “We need to make sure that Thames Water, as an entity, survives.”

The ongoing chaos comes as water companies push ahead with plans to increase household bills by as much as 40 per cent to deal with sewage issues and climate change.

The average bill could increase from £450 to a staggering £680.

Southern Water could see costs soar from just £432 to £672.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is scheduled to discuss the matter with Ofwat's top brass today.

Water prices already rose by 11 per cent in some areas in April.

Kent and Sussex residents, who are reliant on water from South East Water, also face a hosepipe ban and could receive a fine of up to £1,000 for breaching the order.

South East Water received criticism after burst pipes affected 286,000 properties in December 2022.

A further 6,000 properties were affected earlier this month.

However, the company claimed it had no choice but to impose a hosepipe ban to combat demand for drinking water in the region.

GB News has approached Ofwat for comment.