The environment secretary has said he did not know the company he received a £1,700 football ticket from was linked to a water firm that was fined millions for sewage failings.
Steve Reed told Sky News’ Breakfast with Kay Burley programme he “didn’t know they had a relationship with a water company” and “that didn’t arise, nobody spoke about it”.
Mr Reed, who is responsible for holding private water companies to account, declared £1,786 for one ticket to Chelsea v Crystal Palace with hospitality in December last year from Hutchison 3G UK Limited, otherwise known as the Three mobile network.
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The company is wholly owned by Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison Holdings, which owns 75% of CK Infrastructure Holdings, the owner of Northumbrian Water.
Mr Reed accepted the tickets three months after he was made shadow environment secretary, the register of members’ financial interests shows.
Northumbrian Water was fined £17m by water regulator Ofwat this summer for discharging sewage into waterways for 280,000 hours last year from its storm overflows.
The water company’s chief executive, Heidi Mottram, received a £234,000 bonus that year.
Clean water campaigners have said the meeting between Mr Reed and Hutchison executives was concerning, particularly as there is concern over links between the government, regulators and the water industry.
Mr Reed called the issue “complete nonsense” as the ticket was from a telecoms company, and said “not a single policy has been softened” as a result.
Asked why he took a football ticket from Northumbrian Water’s parent company, Mr Reed told Sky News on Wednesday: “Well, I didn’t.”
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After having the company’s link explained, he said: “On that occasion, there was nobody from a water company that was involved in offering those tickets.
“There was nobody from a water company at the event.”
He said he “wouldn’t have known” they were linked and said: “It had no impact whatsoever on what happened that evening or any conversations that took place.”
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Mr Reed said he has a bill going through parliament currently that will ban the payment of bonuses to water bosses.
“The implication is that I would somehow go soft on water companies,” he said.
“What I’ve actually done is bring in the toughest legislation to stop the payment of unfair bonuses, to make water bosses face criminal liability for the kind of things that they’re doing.”
He admitted “with hindsight” he “probably wouldn’t” have taken the ticket and said: “But I didn’t know at the time, and it hasn’t influenced a single decision that I’ve taken.”
Mr Reed launched a new commission on Wednesday to investigate the water industry to tackle sewage pollution, “broken” infrastructure, and toughen up weak regulators.
The new Independent Water Commission will deliver the “largest review of the sector since privatisation”, the UK and Welsh governments said as they unveiled the plans.
