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Severn Trent to be fined £36m

A UK water firm is likely to be handed a £36 million fine from the industry regulator, it was announced today.

Severn Trent Water is to admit to Ofwat it falsified leakage figures and "misrepresented" customer service data.

The misdemeanours, which occurred in 2005 and previously, have also been condemned by the regulator.

"Severn Trent Water's behaviour was unacceptable - the size of the proposed fine reflects how seriously Ofwat takes the deliberate misreporting of information," its chief executive, Regina Finn, said.

"This deception combined with poor internal processes and controls within the company meant that its customers received a service that was far below what the company had reported it was delivering, and in many cases was below the statutory minimum standards."

Tony Wray, Severn Trent's current chief executive, admitted: "There is no doubt that the previous regime and culture in place during the era from 2000 to 2004 was overly bureaucratic and lacked sufficient controls and procedures."

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