the boss of the water regular, ofwat, david black conceded this week that these companies' owners wereow the real possibility of a taxpayer bailout being necessary for at least one of them, thames water. and consumer water bills are going up. what unites all these examples is not only a strong sense of unfairness but also, given this is happening, the question of whether regulation is adequate and whether competition is strong enough to protect the interests of households? take the example of the supermarkets. it's striking that the competition and markets authority said that after asda and morrisons had hiked their fuel prices, the other supermarkets, such as tesco and sainsbury�*s "did not respond in the way you would expect in a competitive market and instead raised their prices in line with these changes." some experts have argued for some time that the competition authorities have been stuck in a somewhat economically naive and outdated view on what they need to do to make sure markets deliverfor consumers. this view, they say, is based on the belief that an absence of direct proo

so they're it's all in from ofwat. so they're it's all is haml— from ofwat.mised to spend money on the infrastructure. but i think we're looking at this wrongly. if are failing and if the companies are failing and they're their directors, they're paying their directors, etcetera, millions of pounds, they should be fined etcetera, millions of pounds, commensurate to the damage right , right. and can you imagine if a director was suddenly find £1 million for failure ? they may million for failure? they may actually get their fingers out and do something about it because they could be rewarded, i think, for improving . david, i think, for improving. david, they should be fired.- pg david, they should be fired. they're ssi— they should be fired. they're ssi lsisg— they should be fired. they're ssi lsisg a— they should be fired. they're not doing a very— they should be fired. they're not doing a very good job at all— not doing a very good job at all-shsall— not doing a very good job at all.-should go.- not doing a very good job at all. should go. they've all. they

ofwat has warned that investors in thames water appear to be reluctant to put more cash into the companyclose hundreds of railway ticket offices across england over the next three years. under the proposals, some ticket kiosks would remain in large stations, but elsewhere staff would be on concourses to sell tickets, offer advice and help people with accessibility. rail unions are opposed to the plans and have warned of further strikes. schools in england face further disruption today and on friday as teachers in the national education union stage their latest strike over pay. picket lines will be mounted outside schools and sixth—form colleges and striking teachers will march in westminster in london before taking part in a rally in parliament square. you're live with bbc news. britain's king charles has been presented with the scottish crown jewels as part of a lavish ceremony to mark his coronation. the afternoon began with a people's procession which left edinburgh castle and made its way along the royal mile. around 100 people from all walks of scottish life were involved including

water companies, ofwat are going to be questioned by mps today. what do you want to see happening?cing _ rivers. it is another meeting about a problem facing a _ rivers. it is another meeting about a problem facing a lot _ rivers. it is another meeting about a problem facing a lot of— rivers. it is another meeting about a problem facing a lot of people i rivers. it is another meeting about| a problem facing a lot of people up and down the country. is this more talk and simply not enough action in cleaning up our rivers and streams? well, it�*s very tempting to think that, isn�*t it? after three decades of deregulation and privatisation i have yet to see much in the way of investment. your comment about £14 billion worth of debt being accrued by thames water, right —— a lot of that happened under the ownership of macquarie bank between 2006 and 2017, so, we would like to make sure that any investment that is pumped in and now comes from the company itself, and then the government, ofwat or do theirjob properly and monitoring pollution and enforcing the law. ., monitoring pollution a

is it fair to say that perhaps orwei-newe— is it fair to say that perhaps ofwat have expertise ofwatvery-about- campaigner forjosh howie, he's been very about wanting an been very vocal about wanting an enereernenri— been very vocal about wanting an enforcement order— been very vocal about wanting an enforcement order for the gewernneni— enforcement order for the government to- enforcement order for the government to take control of ewerriiee— government to take control of supplies. that's— government to take control of supplies. that's different, ien-i— supplies. that's different, ien-ilie— supplies. that's different, isn't to nationalisation ? isn't it, to nationalisation? ween. — isn't it, to nationalisation? ween. ie— isn't it, to nationalisation? yeah. is that— isn't it, to nationalisation? yeah. is that nationalisation wewii— yeah. is that nationalisation would actually— yeah. is that nationalisation would actually achieve a great ieei. — would actually achieve a great ieei. ire— would actually achieve a great deal. it's actually— would actually achieve a great deal. e f 5g dea

she used to be the ofwat. the regulator the head of ofwat. the regulator hang happen hang on.. it comes as the uk's four major banks have been summoned to a meeting with the financial watchdog over allegations of profiteering . the allegations of profiteering. the fca will question bosses from hsbc, lloyds, natwest and barclays over low levels of interest on savings, which are lagging behind the cost of mortgages . the average easy mortgages. the average easy access savings rate is 2.43% energy companies have been warned they could face penalties if they prioritise investors over customers. ofgem says suppliers should retain profits to protect consumers, rather than paying out dividends to shareholders . and they've said shareholders. and they've said action will be taken if pricing rules are abused. a wholesale energy prices have begun to ease, so domestic suppliers should be returning to profit . should be returning to profit. china's urged the foreign secretary james cleverly to stop interfering after he vowed to defend pro—democracy activists targeted by hong kong with arr

and ofwat and all the other regulators.right. to the >> right. still to come, the cops, captain, captain tom foundation has stopped donations as council orders building as the council orders building demolition due to criticism over the daughter building a spar and a swimming pool in a garden without permission. >> it's all a bit whiffy this, isn't it. >> after your . news thanks very >> after your. news thanks very much, bev. >> here are the headlines at 1030. as the nhs celebrates its 75th anniversary, labour is warning the service will die without further investment and modernisation . around 7.4 modernisation. around 7.4 million people are on nhs waiting lists and the government has acknowledged that the figure could get worse before it gets better. it comes as a yougov poll shows 1 in 3 people across the country have found it difficult to access services . difficult to access services. plans have been revealed to close almost every railway station ticket office in england. the rail delivery group has unveiled a proposa

customers will not be made to cover the cost if thames water goes bust, the boss of regulator ofwat hasr is billions in debt and could, in a worst—case scenario, be taken over by the government if it cannot turn things around. a us federaljudge has limited the biden administration's communications with social media companies which are aimed at moderating their content. in a 155—page ruling on tuesday, judge terry doughty barred white house officials and some government agencies from contacting firms over "content containing protected free speech". you are up to date. see you every soon. goodbye. described in court as a bubbly friend, luke took his own life and he was a0 years old. an inquest into his death described his case as unusual and complex. leicester coroner's court heard how luke had an undiagnosed gambling disorder, a recognised psychiatric condition. it was not diagnosed because he didn't share his gambling with anyone and nor did he seek medical advice. in 2019, he had debts of £18,000 because of his gambling addiction. he and his wife annie were able to pay it off when the

over the thames water— hit out at ofwat over the thames water financial— hit out at ofwat over the thameste apt— alexander, to talk about his life and career— alexander, to talk about his life and career in international pottttes— life and career in international politics. that's— life and career in international politics. that's on— life and career in international politics. that's on the way in the— politics. that's on the way in the peat— politics. that's on the way in the next hour.— politics. that's on the way in the next hour. as— politics. that's on the way in the next hour. as ever. tell me what— the next hour. as ever. tell me wtat wow— the next hour. as ever. tell me what you think— the next hour. as ever. tell me what you think on— the next hour. as ever. tell me what you think on everything we're discussing.— what you think on everything we're discussing. email gbviews@gbnews.com. me gbviews@gbnews.com. or tweet me at . et— gbviews@gbnews.com. or tweet me at . et news.— gbviews@gbnews.com. or tweet me at . gb news. well,— gbviews@gbnews.com. or tweet me at. gb news. well, join

ofwat�*s chief executive, david black, has been speaking to the bbc about the company's debt, which currentlyer career so far, up against the 11th seed dario kasatkina of russia. novak djokovic and iga swiatek are the headline acts on centre court after that but on the outside courts they are playing catch up after rain caused havoc for the schedule. andy murray and cam norrie are waiting to find out their second round opponents. in football, new forest green rovers caretaker manager hannah dingley says she is grateful to step up and lead such a progressive and forward—thinking club. she is the first woman to manage a professional men's team in english football. mason mount�*s move to manchester united should be officially confirmed today after he told chelsea fans on a social media video that he will be leaving chelsea. daniel farke has called for togetherness and unity after becoming leeds united manager. in the women's ashes, women to do when the women's ashes, women to do when the t20 match at the oval later to stay in with a chance of winning the series. —— in the women's ashes, england'

and the regulator, ofwat. so this investigation— regulator, ofwat.h > so it's just a case of. yeah. and i think one of things and i think one of the things the times now campaigning on the times is now campaigning on this they're we're this and they're saying we're going to be retrofitting all these anyway to reach going to be retrofitting all therzero anyway to reach going to be retrofitting all therzero to anyway to reach going to be retrofitting all therzero to make nyway to reach going to be retrofitting all therzero to make surey to reach going to be retrofitting all therzero to make sure that reach net zero to make sure that they're carbon as carbon neutral as possible . so while doing as possible. so while doing that, it's surely makes sense to also make sure that these schools have you'd have to close the school down completely while you removed the asbestos, wouldn't you? i this is wouldn't you? i mean, this is the problem. so think. we the problem. so i think. but we are talking about buildings that are talking about buildings that are used

two—thirds of england's biggest water companies employ key executives who had previously worked for ofwate war in ukraine is having a "corrosive" effect on vladimir putin's leadership of russia. he made the remarks while delivering the annual lecture at the ditchley foundation, held in the uk. inside, let's look at this photograph from the mirror. a steam train i'm sure you will all recognise, the most famous in the world, the flying scotsman. it has marked its 100th birthday bait returning home to doncaster where it was built. the returning home to doncaster where it was built. ., ., . , was built. the locomotive was desi . ned was built. the locomotive was designed by — was built. the locomotive was designed by sir _ was built. the locomotive was designed by sir nigel - was built. the locomotive was designed by sir nigel gresleyl was built. the locomotive was i designed by sir nigel gresley and built for the london and northeastern railway in 1923. it's name comes from the daily 10am london to edinburgh service, which started in 1862. a fantastic picture. started in 1862. a fantastic ic

keep your with ofwat as well.h energy living crisis, with energy increases and general food and vet bills increased . so it's vet bills increased. so it's just another additional cost for us from the end of august, the ultra low emission zone will expand to outer london boroughs, a move transport for london say will help stop premature deaths of thousands of people . of thousands of people. however, the plans to expand of thousands of people. - however, the plans to expand the ubiz— however, the plans to expand the ma ne— however, the plans to expand the ma aee— however, the plans to expand the ulez zone are being challenged by ulez zone are being challenged bv bive— ulez zone are being challenged by five councils— ulez zone are being challenged by five councils in— ulez zone are being challenged by five councils in court . ulez zone are being challenged by five councils in court. . by five councils in court. it's neb— by five councils in court. it's neb tubb— by five councils in court. it's not just about— by fiv