Thames Water recently suffered a string of public embarrassments, such as the £20m fine for pollution incidents which occurred between 2012 and 2014, and a “maximum penalty” from Ofwat for falling short of its 2016/17 leakage reduction target by a margin of 47 million litres a day.

Thames Water also experienced an unprecedented market intervention from Ofwat Chairman Jonson Cox in which the company was challenged to deliver urgent step changes in its communications with customers, its financial transparency and the make-up of its board.

Sir Peter Mason, chairman of Thames Water, is however unapologetic, saying “Meeting agreed targets, protecting the environment and complying with the law are fundamental requirements of our business and we expect to be held to account whenever we fail to meet the required standards.”

Mason said the company “makes no excuses” for its failures on pollution and leakage reduction. Responding directly to Cox’s five-point ultimatum for improved performance, Mason said, “I am pleased to say that we are already working in each of these areas.”

As to a measure that Cox put forward regarding publishing an annual audited statement, Mason said that he thought that it was a good idea, and that the company had, for the past three years, published an ‘Our Finances Explained’ document to promote transparency. According to Mason, this would in future be accompanied by a similar document called ‘Our Taxes Explained’.

Mason added: “Following recent reforms of governance in the sector, instituted by Jonson Cox and the board of Ofwat, the composition of our Board of Directors has undergone significant change. Fully independent non-executive directors are now in the majority on the board,” and added that they would “hold the company to account” while also adding “valuable breadth and depth of experience to our decision making and governance.”

According to reports, Mason, who has been chairman of the company for 12 years, is shortly to tender his resignation from the board of Thames Water.

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