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Major flooding could continue until Tuesday after Storm Babet, Environment Agency warns | UK News

Flooding from major rivers could continue until Tuesday following Storm Babet, the Environment Agency (EA) has warned.

Despite the worst of the storm now having passed, rivers in North Yorkshire, the Midlands and the South West could continue to overflow, the agency said.

“Ongoing flooding is probable on some larger rivers including the Severn, Ouse and Trent through to Tuesday,” said EA flood duty manager Katharine Smith.

Derby City Council said there were record-breaking water levels in the River Derwent and said the clean-up could take several days.

Pictures gathered by a Sky News team in Rotherham and Catcliffe in South Yorkshire showed cars submerged up to the tops of their doors.

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Why so much rain has fallen on UK

In Scotland, where there was a red weather warning in the east of the country on Saturday, a large number of homes that lost power have been reconnected.

Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks said it restored power to 36,000 of its customers by 4.45pm on Saturday following a “day of progress” and was making a “final push” to “reconnect the remaining 700 properties”.

The most vulnerable customers are being “spoken to directly and are being offered practical help, support and accommodation where necessary”, it added.

The last remaining Met Office weather warning, for rain, expired at midnight.

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Rugby pitch submerged under floodwater

In the North Sea, off the coast of Aberdeen, a company operating a drilling platform said it had removed non-essential personnel after four of the platform’s eight anchors became detached in severe weather caused by Storm Babet.

Stena Drilling Limited said two coastguard helicopters and a search and rescue helicopter were “mobilised to transfer 45 non-essential personnel from the drilling unit to neighbouring platforms and to Sumburgh on the Shetland Islands”.

The Stena Spey platform remains secure and stable, the company added.

Read more:
Why we’re likely to see more storms like Babet

Forest floor lifted up by storm – dog walker catches on video

A car on a bridge washed away near Dundee
Image:
A car on a bridge washed away near Dundee

In London, King’s Cross station was closed on Saturday afternoon to “manage passenger numbers”.

Managers said it was because Storm Babet had brought “severe disruption to the rail network”.

A retired man with Parkinson’s disease said there was a “high chance of a crush” during overcrowding at the central London terminal.

John Hinson, 61, from North Ferriby in East Yorkshire, said people were “crashing against the barrier” as they tried to reach their trains.

“It was just so dangerous,” he said.

Water firms to face unlimited fines for polluting – as environment secretary accused of ‘national scandal’ | UK News

Water companies could face unlimited fines for polluting under new government plans.

Environment Secretary Therese Coffey is expected to announce measures next week to introduce tougher pollution fines that will be put into a “water restoration fund”.

It comes as opposition politicians called on Ms Coffey to resign over the amount of sewage water companies have discharged into UK waterways.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer accused the government of “turning Britain’s waterways into an open sewer”, as new figures showed water companies took no action to reduce pollution despite discharges falling by 19% in 2022.

Sewage spills out of pipes like these whenever there's significant rain in London
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Sewage spills out of pipes like these whenever there’s significant rain in London

Liberal Democrats leader Sir Ed Davey accused Ms Coffey of presiding over a “national scandal”, saying she should “now resign or be sacked”.

He said: “These figures are a damning verdict on the government’s failure to protect our treasured rivers and lakes. This is a national scandal and it is happening on the Conservatives’ watch.

“A historic drought is no excuse for this government’s inaction and failure. The environment secretary has let water companies get away with these environmental crimes for far too long.

“It is clear she simply doesn’t care enough to get tough on these polluting firms.

“Therese Coffey must now resign or be sacked so we can have an environment secretary who actually cares about saving our rivers from destruction.”

Environment Secretary Therese Coffey speaking during the National Farmers' Union Conference at the ICC, Birmingham. Picture date: Wednesday February 22, 2023.
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Environment Secretary Therese Coffey is expected to announce plans to ‘make polluters pay’

There were 301,091 sewage spills in 2022 according to the latest Environment Agency figures – an average of 824 a day.

This was a decrease of almost a fifth but the falling number of discharges was due to dry weather rather than measures taken by water companies.

Read more:
Good news on fall in sewage spills only highlights the scale of the challenge facing water companies – analysis
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Ms Coffey’s plans also include a six-week consultation examining the possibility of strengthening the Environment Agency’s ability to impose sanctions without going through the courts.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said the most serious cases will still be taken through criminal proceedings but that all other penalties would be quicker and easier to enforce.

Currently penalties and fines imposed by water regulator Ofwat are returned to the Treasury but under the new plans, money will instead be returned to Defra.

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Speaking about her plans, Ms Coffey said: “I know how important our beautiful rivers, lakes, streams and coastlines are for people and nature – and I couldn’t agree more that more needs to be done to protect them.

“I want to make sure that regulators have the powers and tools to take tough action against companies that are breaking the rules, and to do so more quickly.

“Through the Water Restoration Fund, I will be making sure that money from higher fines and penalties – taken from water company profits, not customers – is channelled directly back into the rivers, lakes and streams where it is needed.”

Campaigners have accused water companies of discharging sewage far more often than they should, including when there has been no rain, and have repeatedly called on water companies to use their profits to invest in more infrastructure.

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Doctor took her own life after working in hospital with ‘toxic environment’ | UK News

The father of a junior doctor who took her own life says action must be taken to change a “toxic environment” at the hospital where she worked.

Dr Ravi Kumar, who also works for the NHS, was speaking ahead of the publication of a report into allegations of bullying at the University Hospitals Birmingham (UHB) NHS Trust, one of the largest hospital trusts in England.

The report has also examined claims of threats of disciplinary action against whistleblowers.

Dr Vaishnavi Kumar killed herself in June last year. The 35-year-old had been working at the Queen Elizabeth (QE) Hospital Birmingham.

Her parents say she left a note before taking a lethal overdose.

“She wrote a letter,” her father told Sky News. “She very clearly mentioned that she was doing this because of the QE hospital.”

After taking the overdose she waited three hours to call an ambulance. Her father says that when paramedics arrived “she said under no circumstances was she going to the QE hospital”.

Dr Kumar says his daughter was “bright, fun-loving and compassionate” but things changed soon after she began working at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

“She started facing this toxic environment and she started getting a bit more worried and tearful and sometimes when she was coming back from work will say that people are belittling her and demeaning her.

“She used to get very stressed with some consultants when she was doing the handover because of the way they used to treat her during the handover, laughing at her for treatments and things like that.

“And she being a very senior registrar and also quite experienced and well-liked by all the others, that was becoming… it was taking a toll on her.”

Dr Ravi Kumar blames the hospital's 'toxic' environment for his daughter's death
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Dr Ravi Kumar blames the hospital’s ‘toxic’ environment for his daughter’s death

‘Each day is a struggle’

Dr Kumar says he hopes the Trust acts on the findings of the report.

“The first thing is to realise, accept that this has happened. The second thing is to find out why it has happened and action be taken” he said.

“It makes me angry and at the same time worried about other junior doctors who are going to follow her.

“Our lives stopped on the 22 June and it’s very hard. Each day is a struggle.

“Now my main worry is to stop it happening to others and that is why I want to bring this forward so people realise that there is a toxic atmosphere”.

The review into UHB has been chaired by Professor Mike Bewick, a former deputy medical director at NHS England, who is now an independent consultant.

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Trust ‘requires improvement’ according to 2021 CQC rating

The Trust employs more than 20,000 people. As well as the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham it also operates Birmingham Heartlands Hospital, Good Hope Hospital in Sutton Coldfield, and Solihull Hospital.

In 2021 the Care Quality Commission rated the Trust as “requires improvement” and highlighted concerns about patient safety.

A spokesperson for University Hospitals Birmingham said: “Dr Vaishnavi Kumar was a much loved and respected doctor, who was popular with colleagues and patients alike. Her unexpected death was a tragedy and our heartfelt condolences remain with Vaishnavi’s family.

“We have reflected on our response to Vaishnavi’s death, have learnt lessons from this, and are acting on them.

“Dr Kumar wants his daughter’s death to result in improvements in the support offered to all doctors in training and to see a change in the culture of the Trust. We are pleased that he has agreed to work with the Trust on this.”

The Trust said it will respond in full to the findings of the report by Professor Bewick after it has been published.

:: Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK.

Tory environment group criticises PM Liz Truss over farmland solar energy plan | UK News

The director of the influential Conservative Environment Network has told Sky News the prime minister’s plan to ban solar panels from farmland is “disproportionate” and risks being “damaging to investor confidence in an energy crisis”.

Liz Truss has said she believes solar panels should not be placed on land that could be used for livestock or crops to boost food production and security.

But Sam Hall told Sky News, there is “clearly some localised concern about solar developments that needs to be addressed”.

He continued: “But blocking the vast majority of the current solar pipeline feels like a disproportionate response and damaging to investor confidence in an energy crisis.

“Solar on less productive agricultural land supports food security by diversifying farmers’ incomes and making farm businesses more resilient.”

Liz Truss said she had 'no shame' in reversing the planned 45p tax cut policy, adding that 'it wasn't a priority policy'.
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Liz Truss believes solar panels should not be placed on land that could be used for livestock or crops

The Conservative Environment Network has more than 150 Tory MP members, and it is relatively unusual for the organisation to directly contradict the prime minister in such a way.

It describes itself as “an independent forum for conservatives in the UK and around the world who support net zero, nature restoration and resource security”.

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The group join the National Trust and the RSPB, among others, who are concerned about some of the new government’s policies on planning and deregulation and how they might affect the battle against climate change.

The intervention comes as the chief executive of industry trade body Solar Energy UK Chris Hewett appealed to the government not to go through with its plans.

He told the Financial Times newspaper: “If the plan were implemented, it would threaten 30GW-plus of projects currently being scoped for the second half of the decade – this could be over £20bn of capital investment into the UK energy sector.”

Be ‘less squeamish’ about drinking reprocessed sewage water, environment chief says | UK News

Britons should be “less squeamish” about drinking reprocessed sewage water, and stop treating the resource as a “free good”, the head of the Environment Agency has said.

It comes as water companies have been accused of dumping sewage into rivers and the sea over the last few weeks, triggering warnings about contaminated water.

There have been growing calls to strip water company bosses of their multimillion-pound bonuses after outrage at how much sewage is being pumped into the sea.

Writing in The Sunday Times, Sir James Bevan, head of the Environment Agency, said that people in the UK should be “less squeamish” when it comes to drinking water that has previously been mixed with sewage, as water companies plan to recycle water directly from flushed toilets.

Sir James says this type of water is “perfectly safe and healthy, but not something many people fancy”.

He added we should “change the way they think about water”, and “treat it as a precious resource, not a free good”.

“We need to remember where it comes from: when we turn on the tap, what comes out started in a river, lake, or aquifer,” he wrote.

“The more we take, the more we drain those sources and put stress on nature and wildlife.

“If we are going to get there, we are all going to have to think differently. Some of these measures will be unpopular, so future governments will need to show political will.”

Sir James’s comments come as a Channel 4 News investigation found more than 870 water pipes in the UK could be dumping sewage without permits.

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Sewage alerts keep swimmers away

More than 200 of those have been confirmed to be in use by water companies, the broadcaster said.

The Environment Agency told the programme: “Water companies have rightly been condemned for allowing far too many sewage spills, and we are holding the industry to account on an unprecedented scale.”

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs added: “We are the first government to take action to tackle sewage overflows. We have been clear that water companies’ reliance on overflows is unacceptable, and they must significantly reduce how much sewage they discharge as a priority.

“This is on top of ambitious action we have already taken, including setting targets to improve water quality which will act as a powerful tool to deliver cleaner water, pushing all water companies to go further and faster to fix overflows.”