P19

RAIN STOPS PLAY Wimbledon hit by rain on first week of play

those past issues to address,” Black admitted. Thames Water, he said, required “substantial sums of money” to get its house in order.

Black told the industry regulators committee that Ofwat “should have stepped in to stop companies gearing up” with debts as early as 2007 – when Kemble Holdings, a consortium then led by Australian finance giant Macquarie snapped up Thames Water in an £8bn deal –but that the regulator lacked the power to do so.

Ofwat, which has been criticised for being too cosy with the industry, said it now had more of a mandate to questions suppliers over debt levels.

Numerous industry execs, including the new co-CEO of Thames Water, previously worked at the regulator.

Black admitted that “regulators across all sectors took a relatively hands-off approach to gearing up companies”, including also the energy sec- tor – which has suffered its own domestic crisis.

Ofwat’s attendance at a Westminster committee session comes amid escalating chaos at the UK’s largest supplier Thames Water, which is home to 15m customers across London and south east England.

Thames Water announced a boardroom exodus last week, with chief executive Sarah Bentley abruptly stepping down, followed by chairman Ian Marchant.

It is struggling to tame a £14bn debt pile and is scrambling for £1bn in funds from stakeholders to stop the company falling into administration, with the supplier well behind on its turnaround plans as it battles with sewage leaks and overspills.

Thames Water was hit with yet another fine yesterday – a £3.3m levy handed down after undiluted sewage was pumped into rivers near Gatwick Airport six years ago. The firm has been fined more than £35m for pollution incidents between 2017 and 2023.

MATT HARDY

PUNTERS received a refund for yesterday’s lack of action at the All England Club as Wimbledon was ambushed by rain.

The two-week festival of tennis has not got off to a great start with each of the opening two days hit by showers. But there is hope for later in the week with weather expected to improve by the weekend.

Wimbledon is a huge draw for the capital with the City of London benefiting from the tournament in terms of tourism, sponsorship and local business.

Those lucky enough to be at the All England Club today are likely to see British sensation Jodie Burrage, defending champion Novak Djokovic and women’s No1 Iga Swiatek. The tournament delivers over £200m to the London economy.