Speeches by Dollimore.

“The people who live outside London will probably feel they are quite important and essential to fix too.”

“You are asking for all water companies to be let off fines, effectively.”

“Just to be really clear, on behalf of your creditors, you are asking to be let off the penalties for not doing the investments you have promised you will do as part of price reviews. How is that going to fix the problem?”

“You have spoken about that, and that will be in your submissions to the Independent Water Commission.”

“You have said in your accounts that were published this morning that you expect it will take 10 years to fix sewage dumping in the Thames. Are you asking to be let off the hook for 10 years as part of this regulatory reset?”

“But can you answer the question, Adrian? You have said in your accounts today you think this will take 10 years to fix. Is it therefore correct to say that Thames is lobbying Ofwat and the Government to be let off fines for 10 years?”

“If you have not taken that decision as a board, why are you lobbying the Government for that as Thames Water?”

“It was a bid that you had moved heaven and earth to pave the way for, so how did you feel in that moment? You had let it proceed on an exclusive basis, and you have found yourself in an extremely uncomfortable position in front of this Committee. How did you feel when KKR pulled out?”

“So is it the creditors who are lobbying the Government?”

“You are reacting to that now, but had you conducted your own undertaking on 4 November to have discussions with Ofwat about the legality of the proposed scheme, it is quite clear that it would have expressed the view that the Secretary of State expressed to us here, and the 30 April payment probably would not have gone…”

“The return of the Bayeux tapestry to this country for the first time in almost 1,000 years is a triumph for Britain. The tapestry quite literally wove Hastings and 1066 Country into our national history, but while we are often at the centre of historical events, we have not always felt the benefits, and our area is in …”

“You touched on sachets there, which are a huge source of plastic pollution. They are perhaps not as well known in the UK, because they are used more often in the global south and cause huge pollution, particularly in the oceans. Is that something that you hope to see a clear ban on in the plastics treaty and what do yo…”

“Allison, Richard, did you want to add anything on those points?”

“It is important because it sets the context in which these discussions are taking place and the context in which you, as scientists, are operating. You have talked about the need to have truly independent science available to the decision makers, so it is relevant in that context, but I can feel that you do not want to…”

“We will come on a bit more to product design later in the questioning. On the point that you made, Richard, noting what the Chair said, about having threats against you and legal letters, without referencing who those might have come from, is that something you have experienced a lot as a scientist working in this area…”

“What is the mainstream scientific consensus on these chemicals of concern and the impact that they have on humans?”

“What is the mainstream scientific consensus on these chemicals of concern and the impact that they have on humans?”

“We will come on a bit more to product design later in the questioning. On the point that you made, Richard, noting what the Chair said, about having threats against you and legal letters, without referencing who those might have come from, is that something you have experienced a lot as a scientist working in this area…”

“I refer the House to my entry in the register of interests. Before diving in on the specifics of chemicals, I wanted to ask a general question, probably for Rudy and Allison. In the UK, which are the worst offenders and which are the companies you are impressed by?”

“We are coming on to that shortly. It was a more general point about who the worst offenders are, which companies are impressing you, and then on sachets particularly in the global south.”