The UK's worst corporate polluters should face fines that put a “major dent” in their bottom lines and have their bosses jailed, the Environment Agency has said.
The agency’s chief executive Sir James Bevan is setting out his vision for post-Brexit regulation, arguing for higher standards, greater punishment for rule-breakers, and industries shouldering more of the cost burden of regulation.
In a speech to the Westminster Energy, Environment and Transport Forum conference, he will say he wants to see changes that would see regulators “speak softly” at first but ultimately carry a bigger stick.
