Tom Gordon, the Liberal Democrat MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough, has renewed his call for Yorkshire Water chief executive Nicola Shaw to resign after the company’s annual report, published earlier this, revealed a sharp rise in pollution and fresh offshore payments to senior executives.
The report shows pollution incidents rose by 72 per cent in twelve months, from 151 to 260. The company has incurred £88.8m in penalties from Ofwat for missing performance targets and expects to be downgraded by the Environment Agency to a one-star rating, the lowest possible, in October.
Despite this record, the accounts confirm Ms Shaw has received a further payment from Yorkshire Water’s Jersey-registered parent company, Kelda Holdings, on top of her Yorkshire Water remuneration. They also reveal that chief financial officer Martin Gee and his predecessor Paul Inman have received six-figure sums from Kelda.
Ms Shaw and Mr Gee declined six-figure bonuses this year – payments which would in any case have been caught by the Government’s bonus ban once the Environment Agency’s one-star rating is confirmed. Meanwhile, the company paid £81m in dividends to its foreign shareholders as its debt passed £7.5bn and revenues rose to £1.6bn on the back of higher customer bills.
Tom Gordon MP said:
This latest report confirms what the people of Yorkshire have known for years: Yorkshire Water are morally bankrupt.
Pollution incidents up 72 per cent in a single year, £88.8m in penalties from Ofwat, and a one-star rating from the Environment Agency on the way – yet the company still found millions in dividends for its foreign shareholders all while debt soared and customers’ bills went up.
And the offshore payments continue, with it now confirmed Jersey-based Kelda Holdings made similar payments to finance chiefs too. To the public these appear to be bonuses by the back door.
I have already called on Nicola Shaw to resign, and every page of this report strengthens that case. She should go – and if she won’t, Ofwat must take another look at these Kelda payments. Yorkshire deserves so much better.
- Yorkshire Water published its Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ended 31 March 2026 on 7 July 2026: https://www.yorkshirewater.com/news-media/news-articles/2026/annual-financial-results-yorkshire-water/
- The report shows 260 pollution incidents in twelve months, up 72 per cent on 151 the previous year, and a net £88.8m Outcome Delivery Incentive penalty from Ofwat for missed performance targets.
- Yorkshire Water anticipates being downgraded to a one-star rating when the Environment Agency publishes its Environmental Performance Assessment in October 2026. Only Thames Water received a one-star rating last year.
- Ms Shaw’s latest £660,000 payment from Jersey-registered Kelda Holdings is her third. The two previous payments, made in 2023/24 and 2024/25, were only disclosed following media reporting in August 2025. Ofwat ruled the payments fell outside its definition of a performance-related bonus but called on the company to show greater transparency on executive pay.
- Ms Shaw has confirmed she has no set hours and no separate working arrangements for her Kelda role. Her Yorkshire Water remuneration rose from £689,000 to £732,000 this year.
- The accounts also show £81m in dividends paid to shareholders, net debt of £7.6bn, and revenue of £1.6bn, up 26.2 per cent, following average bill increases of around 30 per cent in April 2025.
- Mr Gordon has previously called on Ms Shaw to resign in Parliament over the offshore payments, saying “the stench of sewage clings to the bosses of Yorkshire Water”.
