The former chief executive of Southern Water has become the first water industry boss to face a criminal charge over sewage discharges, after prosecutors alleged he orchestrated a scheme to manipulate wastewater tests and avoid tens of millions of pounds in penalties.
Matthew Wright, 60, of Haslemere, Surrey, is accused of conspiring to defraud the Environment Agency (EA) and water regulator Ofwat between 2012 and 2017, alongside three other ex-employees: Philip Barker, 57, of West Chiltington, West Sussex; Clive Massey, 64, of Brandhill, Shropshire; and Mark Gregory, 63, of Southampton.
“Ex-CEO Matthew Wright and three others face conspiracy charges over alleged sewage testing manipulation to avoid £45m penalties.”
According to court documents, the alleged conspiracy involved creating artificial “no-flow” events at wastewater treatment works by arranging for sewage to be removed by tankers, designed to influence compliance checks under the operator self-monitoring regime introduced in 2009. Prosecutors claim this was done “with a view to covering up pollution and deceiving those whose function is to protect the public from such harm”.
The EA alleges the scheme allowed Southern Water to avoid penalties of about £45m – though the regulator’s own assessment put that figure even higher.
Wright’s solicitor said he “denies all wrongdoing and has co-operated fully” with the EA’s investigation. He had previously mounted a legal challenge arguing the EA lacked the power to issue a summons, but two senior judges dismissed that claim on Wednesday, ruling that restrictions preventing reporting of the case should be lifted.
Massey, Gregory and Barker did not appear at the hearing in London and were not represented.
Southern Water said the four no longer worked for the firm and the charges related to “a historic set of failures” uncovered through an internal investigation in 2017. “As soon as they were identified, Southern Water reported them to regulators, including the Environment Agency,” a spokesperson said, adding that the company is “completely different now than it was a decade ago”.
The case is scheduled to be heard at Medway Magistrates’ Court on 14 July, with a criminal trial due to begin in September. Conspiracy to defraud carries a maximum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment.
An Environment Agency spokesperson said: “We can confirm that we are taking criminal proceedings against Southern Water Services Ltd and a number of former employees… We take our responsibility to protect the environment very seriously and will always pursue and prosecute those alleged to have committed serious offending against the environment.”
Separately, Southern Water itself is also being charged with breaching environmental permits linked to the same conduct, along with three further individuals accused of failing to comply with environmental permits.