Ex-Southern Water boss charged with conspiracy to defraud

The former chief executive of Southern Water has been charged with conspiracy to defraud authorities over allegations he was involved in a plan to manipulate water quality tests to avoid millions of pounds in penalties.

Matthew Wright is accused alongside three others of conspiring to defraud the Environment Agency (EA) and water regulator Ofwat.

The EA previously asked a judge to issue a summons against Wright, charging him with the offence, along with Philip Barker, Clive Massey and Mark Gregory.

The summons was issued last year but Wright launched a legal challenge which was dismissed by two senior judges on Wednesday.

Wright’s lawyers told the High Court in June that the EA did not have the power to issue the summons and it should be thrown out.

But the judges dismissed his claim and ruled restrictions previously preventing reporting of the legal challenge should be lifted.

Separate court listings showed the case against 60-year-old Wright, of Haslemere, Surrey, Barker, 57, of Chiltington, West Sussex, 64-year-old Massey, of Brandhill, Shropshire, and 63-year-old Gregory, of Southampton, were scheduled to be heard at Medway Magistrates’ Court on 14 July.

The four are accused of conspiring between 2012 and 2017 to “defraud persons performing public duties in respect of environmental and financial regulation” of Southern Water, including the EA and Ofwat, by “the implementation of artificial no-flow events at wastewater treatment works”.

The court listings show that Southern Water has separately been charged with dozens of offences of failing to comply with or contravening an environmental permit condition between 2013 and 2017 at multiple wastewater treatment works.