
Ofwat scrapped to end water regulation that ‘failed customers and environment'
Mr Reed said the move to create a single 'powerful' regulator taking in the functions of four existing bodies with overlapping functions would curb pollution and 'prevent the abuses of the past for customers'.
He said it would ensure 'British families are never again hit by the shocking bill hikes we saw last year', and committed to cut water companies' sewage pollution in half within five years.

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North Wales Chronicle
2 minutes ago
- North Wales Chronicle
Kemi Badenoch says she does not feel Nigerian and no longer has passport
The Conservative Party leader was born in the UK but grew up in Nigeria. When the country's economy collapsed in the 1990s, her parents took advantage of her British passport to get her out, sending her at the age of 16 to live with a family friend in south London to continue her education. She said she had not renewed her Nigerian passport in two decades in an interview with the Rosebud podcast. 'I have not renewed my Nigerian passport, I think, not since the early 2000s. 'I don't identify with it any more, most of my life has been in the UK and I've just never felt the need to.' She said she had to get a visa to visit the country when her father died, which she described as a 'big fandango'. 'I'm Nigerian through ancestry, by birth, despite not being born there because of my parents… but by identity I'm not really. 'I know the country very well, I have a lot of family there, and I'm very interested in what happens there. 'But home is where my now family is, and my now family is my children, it's my husband and my brother and his children, in-laws. The Conservative party is very much part of my family – my extended family, I call it,' she said. The North West Essex MP said her early experiences in Nigeria shaped her political outlook, including 'why I don't like socialism'. 'And I remember never quite feeling that I belonged there,' she added. The Tory leader said the reason she returned to the UK as a teenager was a 'a very sad one'. 'It was that my parents thought: 'There is no future for you in this country'.' She has not experienced racial prejudice in Britain 'in any meaningful form', she said. 'I knew I was going to a place where I would look different to everybody, and I didn't think that that was odd,' she said. 'What I found actually quite interesting was that people didn't treat me differently, and it's why I'm so quick to defend the UK whenever there are accusations of racism.'


The Sun
3 minutes ago
- The Sun
Labour's border chaos is fuelling public fury and fear as dangerous foreign offenders vanish into thin air
Labour's not smashing it IT is little more than a year since Labour came to power promising to smash the people-smuggling gangs. Instead they have smashed the economy — with inflation up, unemployment up and business confidence at a record low. The only significant growth is in the number of illegal migrants coming here in small boats. Already over 25,000 have arrived this year — a 50 per cent rise on the 2024 figure by this stage, which was shocking enough. That number is dwarfed by the UK's astonishing 700,000 population increase in just a year — almost entirely due to legal immigration — which itself is utterly unsustainable. The arrival of thousands of mostly undocumented illegal migrants is symptomatic of just how badly Britain has lost control of its borders. It's not just the millions of pounds it costs taxpayers every day to shower the migrants with handouts and put them up in hotels, nor the fact that so many of them find black market jobs. Most of the arrivals are young men of fighting age — yet the authorities seem to have little idea who they are, even if they end up in court. National emergency We discovered earlier this week that the number of foreign sex offenders and violent criminals in prison in England and Wales is at a record high, and that 40 per cent of people charged with sex attacks in the capital were foreign nationals. Now we learn foreign criminals are simply walking free mid-trial and disappearing under false names because of a dangerous 'disconnect' between prosecutors and immigration enforcement. It is little wonder that people — not least mothers — worry about migrant hotels on their doorsteps, or that protests are growing, or that polls show immigration is the number one issue concerning voters. So what is the Government doing about this national emergency? Reform UK's rising star Laila Cunningham It seems to have no plan, beyond a sketchy one-in-one-out deal with France and setting up a spy unit to track anyone on social media discussing anti-migrant sentiment or two-tier justice. While Britain continues to house soaring numbers of uninvited guests in four-star hotels, America has seen a massive drop in illegal border crossings because tough detention centres and deportations await those who do. President Donald Trump has shown the problem CAN be tackled, if only the political will exists. The Government, which ditched the Rwanda scheme — the only viable deterrent — as its first act in power, has shown precious little will so far. It's about time Sir Keir Starmer realised the urgency of the situation... and started taking tough action of his own. 1


Scottish Sun
33 minutes ago
- Scottish Sun
Nigel Farage urges Chancellor not to hike gambling taxes for horse racing
Farage's comments come after a horse racing insider voiced fears Labour could 'destroy' the industry NIGE TURF WAR Nigel Farage urges Chancellor not to hike gambling taxes for horse racing Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) NIGEL Farage enjoys Glorious Goodwood yesterday — as he called on Chancellor Rachel Reeves to not hike gambling taxes. The Reform UK leader warned of enormous damage if the 15 per cent duty is aligned to the 21 per cent for online casino-style games. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 2 Reform leader Nigel Farage has warned that horse racing should be separated from the proposed Labour bill Credit: David Hartley He said: 'I do think horse racing is different. "You're making an individual decision each time to have a bet. "There are checks and safeguards in place already.' The racing industry says finances will be badly hurt if the current rate is increased for online games. A Treasury consultation on the issue has now closed. He was speaking out as he attended the West Sussex racecourse as a guest of Scottish Dubai-based businessman Dr James Hay, who has previously donated to the Tory party. His wife Fitriani has also given £50,000 to Reform UK last year. Horse trainer John Gosden has warned British horse racing will be harmed by the punishing new betting tax. "I don't want to see our industry destroyed. It would be tragic. We are world leaders." Nigel Farage on leading the polls, being 'ready' to be PM & why he 'hopes people hate him'