Come clean on secret taxpayer rescue plans for Thames Water, MP demands

Thames Water, which supplies 15 million people, has total debts of more than £18bn. Photograph: Maureen McLean/Rex/Shutterstock

Ministers must come clean on the secret details of an emergency plan for a taxpayer bailout in the event of Thames Water collapsing, a Liberal Democrat MP has said.

Sarah Olney will press in parliament this week for details of a behind-the-scenes rescue operation being drawn up for the biggest privatised water company in England. Olney said keeping the details of the contingency plan secret amounted to a cover-up.