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Jail sentences for bosses of polluting water firms an ‘empty threat'

Jail sentences for bosses of polluting water firms an ‘empty threat'

Times21-05-2025

The introduction of prison sentences for water company bosses who break the law is unlikely to 'put water companies off continuing with business as usual' because the regulator does not have the resources to prosecute them, a campaign group has warned.
On Friday the government gave judges the power to jail water firm bosses for up to two years if they cover up sewage spills.
However, James Wallace, the chief executive of the campaign group River Action, said: 'The likelihood of this law being enforced is slim. The Environment Agency has too few resources, too little legal expertise, and most importantly, too little access to court time to actually prosecute water companies.'
Faced with repeated cuts in the past decade, the Environment Agency has struggled

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H&M systems are down in the UK
H&M systems are down in the UK

Daily Mail​

time21 minutes ago

  • Daily Mail​

H&M systems are down in the UK

By Customers at H&M stores across the UK have been unable to purchase products for several hours today, following an apparent failure in the company's payments system. A worker at one store in London told MailOnline that their location had been unable sell items for around two hours. It is not currently known if online customers have been affected by the issue, and the cause of the outage has not yet been revealed. A spokesperson for H&M told MailOnline: 'We are aware of the problem and are looking into resolving it as quickly as possible. 'We apologise to our customers for the inconvenience.' The incident comes after British retail institutions like M&S and Co-op were hit with severe cyber attacks that crippled them. In late April, Co-op was forced to shut down parts of its IT systems after hackers tried to illegally access them, and that it only had a 'small impact' on its operations. The firm later admitted that despite this, hackers 'accessed data relating to a significant number of our current and past members. Meanwhile, M&S stores up and down the country were left with empty shelves after it faced an Easter weekend cyber attack. The company admitted that personal information of customers, which could include telephone numbers, home addresses and dates of birth, were taken. M&S said that the data thieves did not take usable payment or card information from their servers. Luxury jewelry firm Cartier and outdoor retailer The North Face then became the latest retailers to report customer data being stolen in cyber attacks . Watchmaker Cartier told customers in an email that 'an unauthorised party gained temporary access' to its system and 'obtained limited client information'. The firm - whose items have been worn by Taylor Swift , Angelina Jolie and Michelle Obama - revealed names, email addresses and countries had been obtained. But Cartier, which is owned by Swiss-based Richemont, said the 'affected information did not include any passwords, credit card details or other banking information'. The company said it further enhanced the protection of its systems and data, told the relevant authorities and was working with 'leading external cyber security experts'. Separately, fashion brand The North Face, owned by VF Corporation, emailed some of its customers to tell them it discovered a 'small scale' attack in April this year. The brand said names and email addresses were taken, but financial details were not - with the company revealing hackers used 'credential stuffing', reported BBC News. This involves trying usernames and passwords stolen from another data breach in the hope customers have reused the credentials across multiple accounts. North Face said attackers may have got hold of some customers' postal addresses and purchase histories. A North Face spokeswoman told MailOnline: 'The cyber incident you are referring to is a small-scale cyber incident occurred on April 23, 2025, affecting our The North Face e-commerce website in the US only. 'The incident was contained very quickly on the same day it occurred. There was no impact on our systems and/or our consumer data in Europe whatsoever, including in the UK.' Cyber security expert Julius Cerniauskas, chief executive of web intelligence firm Oxylabs, told MailOnline that the latest breaches 'send a clear message that no brand is safe from cybercrime, not even the biggest names with the deepest pockets'. He added: 'Attackers are becoming more opportunistic and sophisticated, targeting brands that hold valuable customer data, not just credit card numbers. 'In the case of The North Face, credential stuffing shows how recycled passwords from past breaches continue to fuel new attacks. 'Cartier's incident demonstrates how even well-defended systems can be compromised. Whether it's luxury retail or everyday consumer brands, hackers are finding weak spots and exploiting them fast.' Mr Cerniauskas urged retailers to 'respond with more than apologies', encouraging them to enforce multi-factor authentication, tighten access controls and constantly monitor for threats. Speaking further about 'credential stuffing', Joe Jones, chief executive and founder of Pistachio, a cybersecurity attack simulation company, said consumers reusing passwords across multiple sites were a 'sitting duck' for breaches of this type. He told MailOnline: 'Credential stuffing, the method used here, only works because people reuse the same login details. 'If you've been caught in this breach, change your passwords immediately - especially if they match accounts like email or banking. 'Enable app-based two-factor authentication, not SMS, and remain hyper alert to scam emails, texts or even fake calls.'

Quarter of UK mental ill health benefit claimants expect to lose out from planned reforms, charity says
Quarter of UK mental ill health benefit claimants expect to lose out from planned reforms, charity says

Reuters

time26 minutes ago

  • Reuters

Quarter of UK mental ill health benefit claimants expect to lose out from planned reforms, charity says

LONDON, June 5 (Reuters) - Around one in four British people with poor mental health who claim welfare benefits expect to lose their entitlement under proposed government reforms, according to research published by a charity on Thursday. Britain's government aims to save 4 billion pounds ($5.4 billion) a year by 2029-30 through tightening the rules for claiming a benefit known as personal independence payment (PIP) designed to cover disability-related costs, whether a claimant is in work or not. The Money and Mental Health Policy Institute said it interviewed 227 people with mental health conditions who receive PIP, which can be worth nearly 6,000 pounds a year. Some 24% of those surveyed said they expected to lose the benefit, while 39% were unsure if they would be affected. About one in five of those surveyed were in work, and nearly two thirds of them said reducing the benefit would make them work less, rather than more, due to difficulty affording transport costs or private mental health support. "Our analysis shows that these changes would actually result in many people with mental health problems who have a job cutting their hours or leaving the workplace altogether," the charity's chief executive, Helen Undy, said. PIP is paid to 3.7 million people in England and Wales, 6% of the population, and new claims have risen by two thirds in recent years. The government hopes that tighter eligibility rules will encourage more claimants to seek work. Under the government plans, claimants would need to have a severe difficulty in at least one area of daily life to qualify for the benefit, rather than a range of less severe problems. Britain's budget watchdog in March estimated that a third of claimants would be affected by the change, of whom around half would lose benefits after being reassessed. The new plans are subject to consultation until the end of the month. Finance minister Rachel Reeves has been under pressure from campaigners to reconsider, following a U-turn over a decision to scrap heating subsidies for most pensioners. ($1 = 0.7372 pounds)

Retailers call for urgent national action on high street crime
Retailers call for urgent national action on high street crime

Western Telegraph

time29 minutes ago

  • Western Telegraph

Retailers call for urgent national action on high street crime

Once seen as a major shopping destination, Oxford Street has struggled in recent years – becoming better known for phone snatching and sweet shops. High Streets UK, a group that represents 5,000 UK businesses, is calling for ring-fenced funding for police to protect key shopping destinations. The body includes members from business improvement districts in Aberdeen, Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Leeds, Liverpool, London and Newcastle. Dee Corsi, chair of High Streets UK and chief executive of founding member New West End Company, said: 'Flagship high streets are engines of the local and national economy, drivers of tourism, and anchors for communities. But without urgent national action on crime, they are at serious risk. 'We have welcomed the Government's renewed focus on retail crime in particular. 'But we must go further and faster to tackle all types of crime affecting high streets, having a devastating effect on businesses and communities, tarnishing the UK's global reputation, and jeopardising tourism and investment.' According to the most recent official statistics, the number of shoplifting offences recorded by police in 2024 surpassed 500,000 for the first time. Ms Corsi said it is critical for additional funding for policing in the upcoming spending review to be ring-fenced for key high streets. 'The UK's flagship high streets are important cultural and economic centres – with High Street UK locations generating over £50 billion in economic value every year – yet growing complex challenges around crime and anti-social behaviour put these locations at risk,' she said. 'Take London's West End – the internationally renowned home to Oxford Street, Bond Street and Regent Street is an important driver of jobs, investment, and tourism, contributing 3% of the capital's economic activity. 'Despite this, continued underfunding of policing has left it facing real issues including anti-social behaviour, shop theft and organised business crime. 'Through the collective voice of High Streets UK, we are calling for the Government to recognise the value of these locations – as economic hubs, anchors for community, and tourism destinations – by ring-fencing dedicated police support. 'Failing to do so puts growth, and flagship high streets, at serious risk.' High Streets UK held its second quarterly meeting on Wednesday, drawing up four key points that it is urging the Government to tackle. Ms Corsi added: 'At our Safer High Streets Forum, we shared our frontline experience of the international criminal gangs, business crime, prolific offenders and anti-social behaviour affecting our high streets – none of which can be meaningfully tackled with the current systems and resources in place.' High Streets UK has called for boosted police numbers around high streets, separately measuring performance for the specific areas. It wants immediate jail terms for those who breach criminal behaviour orders, quicker sentencing for crimes linked to retail, and a focus on repeat offenders. And it is calling for national measures to tackle organised crime that affects high streets including begging gangs, and the creation of a national framework for businesses to report crime.

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