CAMPAIGNERS welcomed the resignation of South East Water’s chairman today after a report by MPs said they had “no confidence” in the company’s leadership following major supply outages in Kent and Sussex.

Independent non-executive chairman Chris Train stepped down immediately, replaced by interim chairwoman Lisa Clement.

He quit following criticism from the parliamentary environment, food and rural affairs committee, which said the leadership’s incompetence and lack of accountability had driven poor performance, while its inadequate governance framework had failed to hold senior employees responsible.

Thousands of customers were left unable to access tap water, shower or flush toilets during outages between November and January.

Tunbridge Wells community group Dry Wells Action called for chief executive David Hinton to also quit, and for the company to appoint consumers to its board as non-executive directors to ensure their voice was “no longer overlooked.”

Of Mr Train’s decision, the group said: “Resignation is the correct decision.

“The real question is how Hinton thinks he cannot follow suit.”

Lena Swedlow, deputy director of cross-party campaign group Compass, said: “While we welcome any act of accountability for water companies, the failure of service and governance at South East Water is a structural problem inherent to a privatised water industry.

“The failures of South East Water are shared from Sunderland to St Ives — the illegal sewage dumping, the underinvestment, and the sky-rocketing bills that end up in the pockets of shareholders and executives instead of our pipes.

“Holding CEOs to account is necessary, but it alone is not sufficient.

“Until the water industry is brought into public, democratic ownership, it will never truly serve us — the people who depend on this essential resource every day.”

South East Water said it was “mutually agreed that new independent board leadership is now required” and apologised to customers.

The company plans to double its investment in its water supply network over the next five years.

In a report published yesterday, the Efra committee said the company was “devoid of proper leadership” and “riddled with cultural problems.”

Committee chairman Alistair Carmichael welcomed the decision, but reiterated calls for the chief executive to go, adding: “Many of the problems identified in our report fall firmly into the areas of responsibility of the chief executive, David Hinton.

“The board wasn’t doing its job in holding the chief executive to account.

“So we have thrown down the gauntlet to the only entities who can change SEW for the better — its investors.”

The firm was criticised over poor infrastructure maintenance, failing to monitor risks, a lack of investment, and a disorganised response during the crisis that left vulnerable residents without water.

Mr Hinton admitted he “got it wrong” in his handling of the outages.

But the committee said leadership demonstrated “groupthink,” preventing their ability to learn lessons.

Dry Wells Action has called on the government to act, including ordering regulators to join the board during a probationary period while it is assessed on whether it should retain its licence.

Its chairman, Jonathan Hawker, said: “We are grateful to the select committee for its diligence.

“But we now need actions, not just words.

“This community urgently needs infrastructure investment and modernisation, better communications and leadership from all parties in this sorry saga of failure.

“Until there is action, this town will not be able to put away its emergency water bottles.”

A statement from South East Water’s interim independent non-executive chair Ms Clement said: “The board thanks Chris for his service to South East Water.

“The company’s focus remains on delivering engineering and operational changes that will strengthen the resilience of South East Water’s network and transform the company for the benefit of customers and local communities.”