Minister says PM is 'tackling' sewage spills - despite being told to vote against 'duty'

Mr. Johnson ordered MPs to vote to remove seven crucial lines added to the Environment Bill - including a 'duty' for businesses not to discharge sewage

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Image: Getty Images)

A Tory cabinet minister has claimed Boris Johnson is the first prime minister to tackle sewage spills - despite ordering MPs to vote against the 'duty' to stop it.

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Thousands of people were angry after heavy rains last week led to dozens of popular coastal sites where sewage was pumped into their waters.

The stench grew as people reshared details of a Commons vote on the issue from October 2021. Many shared Twitter posts shaming their local MP, saying they "have voted to allow the dumping of raw sewage into our rivers".

The row began when Peers amended the Environment Bill to include a 'duty' for water companies to take 'reasonable steps to ensure that untreated sewage does not are not evacuated" storm drains.

Mr. Johnson ordered MPs to vote to delete seven crucial lines - including that 'duty' not to discharge sewage.

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Instead, the Tories voted for a lesser measure to ensure "a gradual reduction in the negative impact of discards".

And this week, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) announced it was launching what it calls "the biggest infrastructure program in the history of companies". to tackle sewage spills and stop pollution".

This will be a £56 billion capital investment over 25 years.

The plan has been called a “fiction” and a “cruel joke” by opponents in Parliament.

Under the proposals, water companies will have to meet targets so that discharges only occur when there are exceptionally heavy rains and when there is no immediate negative impact on water. locale.

Today Environment Secretary George Eustice claimed the government was the first to 'really tackle' the problem of sewage spills.

He insisted that storm overflows are "not a new challenge", as they are "a legacy of Victorian sewer infrastructure".

He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "There are around 15,000 of these storm surges and, as I said, they are a legacy of the Victorian infrastructure we had.

"You could...