Louise Beardmore, boss at England’s worst-polluting firm, tells MPs pollution rise partly down to extra monitors and wet weather

England’s most polluting water provider “isn’t good enough” at trying to stop sewage dumping, its boss has admitted to MPs.

The chief executive of United Utilities defended her £1.4m pay packet, including a £420k bonus, despite the company behind historic spills in Lake Windermere having been found to have polluted more than any other in 2023.