The Prime Minister must take over Thames Water within hours as the country’s biggest water supplier is one the edge of collapse.
Clean water campaigner Fergal Sharkey – the former singer in The Undertones – urged the Government to take control.
He said: “The regulator has clearly known the situation is developing.
“We’ve seen the symptoms of it in terms of the sewage crisis, in terms of London’s water supply running out, in terms of leaked pipes not being repaired.”
“But there is another solution and it’s a power that government has at its disposal.
“This afternoon they can simply issue enforcement orders… effectively the Government would take control of the management of those companies while leaving them in the private sector and detail exactly what investment needs to be paid down, what debts need to be paid, what investment needs to be made in infrastructure, what executive pay, dividends should be.
“This may cause a lot of pain to the shareholders who put very little money into these companies.
“It may take five or 10 years.
“But here’s the thing, the outcome of it all [is that] you will end up with debt free, forward looking, profitable businesses.”
The UK water sector has amassed debts of £60 billion having taken advantage of almost a decade of low interest rates.
Meanwhile, Whitehall is drawing up contingency plans to put Thames Water into special administration if needed.
The process would result in the taxpayer controlling and funding the company until a buyer is found.
Kemi Badenoch, the Business Secretary, said:
“Obviously this is a commercially sensitive situation and I know that my colleagues across government are looking at what we can do.
“We need to make sure that Thames Water as an entity survives.”