The Government has been urged to “cut the crap” as sewage dumping on British beaches risks threatening Brits’ Bank Holiday weekend.
Labour has accused the Tories of doing nothing to curb a looming 'sewage scandal' that risks stopping Brits from heading to their favourite destinations in the UK.
Beaches across the South of England were closed last weekend as sewage was pumped along the coast.
A pipe burst along the River Ray causing a sewage leak that killed off fish stocks along a three-mile stretch of a Thames tributary.
The Angling Trust, which represents anglers and campaigns for fish conservation in England, has demanded Thames Water provide a "full explanation".
Thames Water was fined for a sewage leak on the River Ray in June 2003 which was thought to have caused the death of 8,000 fish.
There has been growing public outrage in recent years at the volume of raw or partially treated sewage pumped into the UK’s rivers and coastal waters.
Water firms are being criticised for not investing money back into the UK’s outdated water infrastructure, with mounting pressure on ministers to intervene.
Jeff Smith MP, Labour’s Shadow Tourism Minister, said: “It’s time for this Conservative government and water company bosses to cut the crap, and protect seaside towns from sewage discharges.
"The August Bank Holiday is a crucial weekend for the tourist trade yet the Tory sewage scandal puts that at risk.
“Our tourism industry was hit hard by Covid, and there were hopes of a bumper Summer to boost trade, yet the Conservative cost of living crisis means families are cutting back, and tourism firms are scared of sky high energy bills. This sewage scandal could break them with visitors staying away, and prices plummeting as a result.
“This would have been avoidable if Conservative MPs had voted to stop sewage dumping. Ministers must act to protect seaside communities and mitigate against this disaster.”
Tory leadership frontrunner Liz Truss was criticised for slashing funding for the Environment Agency which resulted in “doubled sewage discharge".
Labour Party analysis of official figures revealed that since 2016, when the Tory leadership hopeful was in charge of Defra – raw sewage discharge more than doubled from 14.7 per overflow in 2016 to 29.3 in 2021.
As Environment Secretary, Ms Truss justified the cuts saying “there are ways we can make savings as a department” citing better use of technology and inter-agency working.
A senior consultant for the Environment Agency told the Guardian: “The [cuts] plummeted to the point it was impossible for the Environment Agency to know what’s going on.
"They had no control or monitoring capability that was meaningful.
"They ceded the control of monitoring to water companies, which ended up being able to mark their own homework. They take their own samples and assess whether they are being compliant.”
