Richard Foord MP who beat Simon Jupp to take the new seat of Honiton and Sidmouth said: “The water industry is broken, and this is yet another example of just how broken the system is. Frankly, the whole thing stinks …..The revolving door between water companies, regulators and government has to come to an end.”

Jupp has scrubbed his social media profile on X, which previously contained criticism of South West Water.

Former Tory MP takes job with owner of water firm he criticised

Adam Vaughan www.thetimes.com 

A former Tory MP who called South West Water’s track record “shameful” has joined its parent company in a move that campaigners said was a case of “poacher turned gamekeeper”.

Simon Jupp, the MP for East Devon until he lost his seat in the general election, had been a vocal critic of the water firm, which serves Devon, Cornwall and small areas of Dorset and Somerset.

After thousands of people in Brixham, Devon, were told to boil their water after the discovery of a parasite in supplies last year, Jupp lambasted South West Water for “unacceptable” behaviour. He also called for a criminal investigation into sewage spilt by the firm at Exmouth in Devon. The former politician has now taken a role at the Pennon Group, the owner of South West Water.

Jupp heavily criticised South West Water after a parasite was found in water supplies last year

Jupp repeatedly boasted of holding the company to account and said he would ensure its pollution was “met with the full force of the law”, adding: “I am determined to push South West Water to deliver the standards expected by local residents, visitors and businesses.” His new role is in Pennon’s regional development team, working with communities across the region.

“The water industry is broken, and this is yet another example of just how broken the system is. Frankly, the whole thing stinks,” said Richard Foord, the Liberal Democrat MP for Honiton & Sidmouth, which was created in part from the East Devon constituency Jupp once held. Foord added: “The revolving door between water companies, regulators and government has to come to an end.”

The Drinking Water Inspectorate, a water regulator, is yet to report its findings into the outbreak of the waterborne parasite cryptosporidium last May. Susan Davy, the chief executive of South West Water, recently called the Brixham incident “devastating” and apologised.

Environment Agency figures released last week showed that South West Water discharged raw sewage into waterways for longer than any other company last year. It was spilt from storm overflows for a total of 544,439 hours.

“We have got our programme in place to eliminate pollutions — that is when things go wrong on our system — to make sure we can eliminate those. And then for storm overflows, we have got our 15-year programme to take those flows out of the system so that we can reduce impacts to the environment,” Davy recently told MPs.

Since stepping down as an MP, Jupp has scrubbed his social media profile on X, which previously contained criticism of South West Water.

“This is the latest episode in the farce where politicians and regulators ditch principles and public duty to chase personal gain,” said James Wallace, chief executive of the charity River Action. “Just like the ex-head of [the water regulator] Ofwat taking a job in Thames Water, we see a gamekeeper MP turn water company poacher, conveniently wiping out past misdemeanours to suit a new narrative where the lines between public servant and private profiteer blur. This is how regulatory capture occurs.”

The Times’s Clean it Up campaign is calling for action by companies, government and regulators to tackle pollution in the nation’s rivers and seas.

South West Water declined to comment. Jupp was contacted for comment.