Two weeks ago today I placed Thames Water CEO, Chris Weston, and their Chief Financial Officer, Alastair Cochran, under citizen’s arrest at their Head Offices in Reading. I was fed up with these execs earning huge sums of money each year, while personally allowing raw sewage to continue being dumped in our waters. Ten days later, Thames Water announced that Alastair was quitting after working for the company since 2021.

I was accusing Chris and Alastair of four counts of public nuisance relating to unsafe infrastructure and drinking water, mismanagement of customer funds, and the illegal discharge of sewage. I brought draft indictment papers and evidence dossiers with me, which I also submitted to the Crown Prosecution Service.

The following week, a small group of women who formed Citizen’s Arrest Network with me, placed six top executives of four major oil and gas companies under citizen’s arrest outside their central London offices.

The biggest polluting companies are taken to court and found guilty all the time, it’s like water off a duck’s back. Settling legal cases has become part of the business model.

So we set up Citizen’s Arrest Network to hold the people in these companies to account for the decisions they make. We know that until the CEOs feel the threat of personal legal consequences, nothing will change.

Mismanagement at Thames Water is hitting people’s pockets this week. Your average person doesn’t sympathise with executives of these companies who are making people’s lives worse and more expensive, while receiving huge bonuses.

Similarly, the cost of the climate crisis is hitting the public as food shortages drive prices of everyday essentials up, and extreme weather makes home insurance almost impossible if you live in an area that’s vulnerable to flooding.

It’s clear there is a two-tier legal system, which is failing to hold executives of the worst polluting companies to account. No one should be above the law.