Former Southern Water boss charged with fraud

The former chief executive of Southern Water has been charged with conspiring to defraud authorities over allegations he took part in a scheme to rig water quality tests to avoid millions of pounds in fines.

Matthew Wright, along with three others, has been charged with defrauding the Environment Agency (EA) and water regulator Ofwat.

The EA has previously asked Judge Wright to issue a subpoena, along with Philip Barker, Clive Massey and Mark Gregory in the criminal case.

The subpoena was issued last year, but Wright launched a legal challenge that was dismissed by two senior judges on Wednesday.

Wright’s lawyers told the High Court in June that the EA had no jurisdiction to issue the subpoena and it should be thrown out.

But the justices rejected the claim and ruled that restrictions on the reporting of previous legal challenges should be lifted.

Various court records show that Wright, 60, of Haslemere, Surrey, Barker, 57, of Chiltington, West Saxons, Massey, 64, of Brandhill, Shropshire, and Gregory, 63, of Southampton, were scheduled to appear at Medway Magistrates’ Court.

The four Between 2012 and 2017, the EA and Ofwat, including South Water, were accused of conspiring to “defraud public works on environmental and financial management by implementing artificial water treatment works”.

Court records show Southern Water has been charged with dozens of crimes between 2013 and 2017 related to its wastewater treatment operations.