PRIVATISED water profiteers “can’t be trusted” and should be kicked out of an industry that belongs in public hands, campaigners warned today after three employees at one of Britain’s biggest water suppliers were convicted of obstructing an Environment Agency (EA) investigation into sewage leaks.

The agency was looking into raw sewage being pumped into rivers across south-east England.

But it has now been revealed that five employees of Southern Water were convicted last year of obstructing agency investigations in July 2016, though two of these convictions were overturned on appeal.