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We’ve had further reaction following Thames Water being slapped with a record-breaking fine for breaching sewage regulations, while paying dividends.

This morning it was announced the water regular, Ofwat, has issued a £123m fine – and that this must be paid by the company and investors, not by customers. 

Responding to the fine, the union Unite said that Thames Water has shown that “the privatisation of water has been a disaster”.

Sharon Graham said: “We now need to stop companies like Thames Water treating workers and communities with contempt once and for all.”

The union’s general secretary added: “This fine for paying out dividends is just too little, too late.”

She added that the company must be renationalised, and it must be the owners who pay “the price for its failure”.

The union added that morale at the company is at “rock bottom” due to uncertainty and that workers have been let down as well as customers. 

Who else we’ve heard from so far

Environment Secretary Steve Reed said the “era of profiting from failure is over”.

Meanwhile, in Lib Dem corner, Tim Farron said the fine should be “the final nail in the coffin” for Thames Water, which he said has been “failing for years”. 

The party’s spokesperson on the environment, Farron also said Ofwat needs to be replaced by a “real regulator with teeth”.

Always hot on the environment, the Greens said the “milestone” fine should be “only the start” and called for all water companies to be renationalised so they can be “run for people and planet, not for profit”.