England’s Environment Agency has downgraded 93% of prosecutions for serious pollution over four years, despite recommendations from frontline staff for the perpetrators to face the highest sanction, a leaked report seen by the Guardian reveals.
Between April 2016 and December 2020, investigators within the agency gathered evidence and prepared case files on 495 serious incidents, involving the worst type of pollution of rivers and coastal waters as well as serious waste crimes, according to the internal document.
