Water bosses’ pay rises despite ban on bonuses

More than 220,000 people were evacuated in France and Spain in July 2026, including around 200,000 in south-west France’s Gironde and Landes regions and almost 60,000 near Bordeaux. Europe’s wildfire season and the backlash over water bosses’ pay rises collided on Saturday’s front pages, with The Guardian’s “Water bosses’ pay rises despite ban on bonuses” and the Daily Mirror’s “Summer of chaos”. The Mirror ran a photo of beachgoers in Lacanau, France, watching fires rage as thousands of holidaymakers faced huge queues at Europe’s ports and blazes in south-west France forced evacuations.

Emmanuel Macron mobilised the military to help the response, while Spain battled one of its deadliest wildfires, with at least 12 deaths, including four Britons. Spain’s Aemet recorded temperatures above 44C in several places, and more than 1,500 sq km had been devastated by flames.

Bonuses for water bosses in England rose by 20% in 2021, with executives receiving an average of £100,000 in one-off payments on top of salaries while foul water was being pumped for 2.7 million hours into England’s rivers and swimming spots. The government later introduced rules banning bonuses for some senior executives at water companies that failed environmental and consumer standards, and the ban took effect for six water companies in June 2025.

The company paused a bonus scheme tied to securing its £3 billion rescue loan after Downing Street said bosses were “rewarding themselves for failure is clearly not acceptable”, but bonus payments to top bosses had still risen to £4 million in July 2026. Thames Water defended the payouts as retention awards, while a minister said they “fly in the face of fairness”.