Directors of Thames Water will meet within days to decide whether to proceed with more than £2m of retention payments to senior executives amid fierce scrutiny from MPs.
Sky News has learnt that the crisis-hit water utility’s remuneration committee will hold talks next week after taking legal advice on whether to press ahead with the second instalment of a multimillion pound payout to 21 of its most senior managers.
In total, the latest payouts equate to £2.46m, the same as a previous tranche of money handed out earlier this year.
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A Whitehall source said on Tuesday that Sir Adrian Montague, Thames Water’s chairman, had written to Alistair Carmichael, chair of the environment, food and rural affairs select committee to inform him of the remuneration committee’s deliberations.
Mr Carmichael wrote to Sir Adrian last week demanding to know by 1 December whether the money would be handed out.
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Chris Weston, Thames Water’s chief executive, is already the subject of a bonus ‘ban’ imposed by the regulator, Ofwat, under new rules preventing payouts at water companies which are failing to meet environmental, financial resilience or consumer standards.
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Mr Weston is not a member of the retention payment scheme.
The controversial retention payments at Thames Water are due to be decided on with the company remaining in the grip of a survival battle.
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Its largest group of creditors remain locked in talks with Ofwat, other regulators and the government about the terms of a prospective deal that would write off billions of pounds of the company’s debt.
They would also inject billions of pounds in fresh equity, in return for an adjustment in Ofwat’s approach to future financial penalties.
Thames Water declined to comment.
