Poor state of Thames Water a ‘critical risk’ to UK, Starmer and Reeves told

Thames Water’s Deephams sewage treatment works. Whitehall briefings termed the company a ‘critical risk’. Photograph: David Levene/The Guardian

The prime minister and chancellor have been briefed by Whitehall officials that the poor state of Thames Water presents a “critical risk” to the country, the Guardian understands.

Fears about the company go beyond its precarious financial position and include the management of sites that provide drinking water and sewage treatment for millions of customers across the capital and the Thames valley.