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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Business
Anna Isaac

Thames Water lobbied Whitehall to press Ofwat on allowing higher bills

Thames Water is blighted by sewage scandals, fines and huge debts.
Thames Water is blighted by sewage scandals, fines and huge debts. Photograph: Maureen McLean/Shutterstock

Thames Water has lobbied the government to intervene with the regulator to allow it to charge far higher bills, the Guardian can reveal.

Advisers and board members of the beleaguered water company are understood to have met Whitehall officials in recent weeks to say that allowing it to be temporarily renationalised would have a “chilling effect” on the entire UK’s appeal to international investors, sources familiar with the discussions told the Guardian.

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