The former chief executive of Southern Water, Matthew Wright, has been charged alongside three other individuals in connection with an alleged scheme to manipulate water quality tests, a move that may have aimed to avoid approximately £45 million in financial penalties. Wright is accused of conspiring to defraud the Environment Agency (EA) and water regulator Ofwat between 2012 and 2017, along with Philip Barker, Clive Massey, and Mark Gregory, who also held positions at the company.
The EA had previously requested a judge to issue a summons against Wright and the other defendants. Wright's legal representatives initiated a challenge against the summons, which was dismissed by two senior judges on Wednesday. His lawyers had argued in the High Court in June that the EA lacked the authority to issue the summons, but the judges rejected this claim and lifted restrictions that had prevented reporting on the legal challenge.
Wright's solicitor stated that his client "denies all wrongdoing and has co-operated fully with the Environment Agency's investigation."
Separate court records indicate that Wright, 60, of Haslemere, Surrey; Barker, 57, of West Chiltington, West Sussex; Massey, 64, of Brandhill, Shropshire; and Gregory, 63, of Southampton, were scheduled to appear at Medway Magistrates' Court on July 14. The four face accusations of conspiring between 2012 and 2017 to defraud regulatory bodies, including the EA and Ofwat, through "the implementation of artificial no-flow events at wastewater treatment works."
Southern Water itself has been charged with numerous offenses related to failing to comply with or contravening environmental permit conditions at multiple wastewater treatment works between 2013 and 2017, according to court listings.