Thérèse Coffey accused of ‘throwing in the towel’ over sewage scandal

Protesters at the weekend outside a Thames Water sewage treatment works in Buckinghamshire. Photograph: Maureen McLean/Rex/Shutterstock

Thérèse Coffey has admitted she cannot end the sewage scandal, in what critics are calling a “complete abdication of duty”.

Launching her department’s cleaner water plan at the London Wetland Centre in Barnes in the south of the capital, the environment secretary said upgrading the sewage network to stop spills could add hundreds of pounds each to people’s bills.