The House of Commons Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee (EFRA) has recalled Thames Water’s Chair Sir Adrian Montague, CEO Chris Weston and Independent Non-Executive Director Ian Pearson, who chairs Thames’ Remuneration Committee, for further questioning on Tuesday 15 July in the light of ongoing concerns.

Ahead of the evidence session it will be holding with Thames Water next Tuesday, the Committee had also written to Sir Adrian Montague requesting board minutes relating to KKR.

The Committee has this morning published Sir Adrian Montague’s response to this request, in which he states that “providing copies of minutes of discussions in relation to the KKR proposal could undermine the successful conclusion of a live transaction which remains subject to negotiation.”

Sir Adrian has offered the Chair of the EFRA Committee a private discussion.

However, the Committee has written back to Sir Adrian, again requesting the provision of the minutes, noting that it is “unfortunate that recent evidence given to the Committee has been inaccurate and has had to be clarified to such a degree that it has removed the possibility of our working together on the basis of trust”. The Committee states that “a private briefing is not appropriate in these circumstances, nor does it meet the standards of transparency we seek to uphold on this Committee”.

The Committee has also written to KKR with questions regarding the withdrawal of its takeover bid.

The water bosses will face scrutiny on Thames’ financial issues, including KKR’s withdrawal in June of its takeover proposal, the company’s current financial status and performance, and the plans and demands of its new prospective takeover consortium.

This follows the publication of an 85-page document, containing board minutes and financial information, provided by Thames to the Committee. The Committee has also published further correspondence between the Committee and Thames requesting the disclosure of information that Thames has so far failed to supply.

The session next week will see MPs also probe into Thames’ Management Retention Plan (MRP).

In correspondence from Thames Water to the Committee, published in June, the chair of Thames, Sir Adrian Montague, disclosed that the MRP plan amounts to £18.5 million in total, spread across the three separate payments over two years, with 21 members of Thames Water’s senior management team having already received a first payment under the Plan at 50% of base salary on 30 April 2025.

Following the receipt of this letter, the EFRA Committee wrote to Thames, with further questions on the MRP and requested the minutes of the meetings of its remuneration committee. The Committee at the same time wrote to the Defra Secretary of State, Steve Reed, and to Ofwat, on the MRP, and asked for an assessment of the application of the Water (Special Measures) Act to the MRP payments.

The responses from Thames Water, the Defra Secretary, and Ofwat, have been published by the Committee today.