More good intentions from Thames Water but where’s the owners’ new capital?

Shareholders promise more capital for investment but customers will believe it when they see it

“Turning around Thames will take time,” said Cathryn Ross and Alastair Cochran, interim chief executives of England’s largest water company. This plea for understanding would sound more convincing if their two predecessors had not said the same thing on many occasions since about 2016. The deep crisis at Thames is not new. Declarations of fresh starts arrive as regularly as the pollution incidents (up from 217 to 257 in Tuesday’s half-year numbers). Delivering on the good intentions – the only bit that matters – is where the company consistently falls short.

On the plus side, the Ross/Cochran plan envisages a shorter time span to demonstrate progress on leaks, pollution, complaints and more – three years, whereas Sarah Bentley, the previous boss, talked about eight and departed after two. At this late stage, though, customers are entitled to believe it when they see it.