Bidders demand Thames Water granted immunity over environmental crimes

Exclusive: Ransom note' requests would leave Environment Agency unable to prosecute company or management

Lenders vying to take over Thames Water have demanded that the struggling company and its management be granted immunity from prosecution for serious environmental crimes as a condition of acquiring it, the Guardian can reveal.

Creditors want the environment secretary, Steve Reed, to grant the water company extraordinary clemency from a series of strict rules covering everything from sewage spills to failure to upgrade its water treatment works.