Therese Coffey admits she cannot fix sewage scandal ‘overnight’

Water plan is ‘just crap’ says campaigner Feargal Sharkey

Therese Coffey’s water plans have been dismissed by opposition parties (Jacob King/PA) (PA Wire)

Therese Coffey has admitted she cannot end the sewage scandal “overnight” in what critics are calling a “complete abdication of duty”.

The environment secretary has faced calls to resign from opposition figures after new statistics showed more than 300,000 sewage spills in 2022.

Launching a Plan for Water from the London Wetlands Centre on the bank of the River Thames, Ms Coffey said there was “no way we can stop sewage pollution overnight” and that to suggest otherwise was to be “definitively dishonest” with the public.