, United Utilities failed to stop the illegal pollution of Windermere for 10 hours in February this year and did not report the leak until 13 hours later.
Despite this, then-chief executive Steve Mogford, who has since retired, received a £426,000 bonus as part of a £2.2m pay packet, according to United Utilities’ annual report for the year ending 31 March, 2023. The bonus was down from £727,000 the previous year.Meanwhile, United Utilities’ consumers’ bills are set to increase by 7.8 per cent between 2023-24 and 2024-25, from £446 to £481 a year.
In its most recent results, United Utilities announced profits of £90m, while committing to give shareholders a dividend worth £113m in total,The company has faced criticism from celebrities including Steve Coogan, Paul Whitehouse and Lee Mack, over sewage pollution at Lake Windermere and across the North West more generally.