A consortium of Thames Water's creditors has proposed installing a new board, including a former Yorkshire Water chief executive and a former Openreach boss, in an attempt to persuade the government against placing the struggling utility into temporary nationalisation. The move is designed to reassure ministers, particularly Andy Burnham, who has pushed for greater public control of the company, that a commercial rescue deal would still bring a leadership overhaul, but campaigners have dismissed the plan as a cosmetic gesture that fails to address the underlying crisis.

London & Valley Water, a group of around 100 institutional investors holding £17bn of Thames Water's £21bn debt, wants to appoint Liz Barber, Clive Selley and Dame Bernadette Kelly as directors, with Mike McTighe becoming chair in place of Sir Adrian Montague, contingent on approval of a £10bn recapitalisation plan. We Own It's Cat Hobbs branded the proposal a "cosy stitch-up" akin to "reshuffling chairs on the deck of the Titanic," while ministers have separately warned water firms against treating billpayers as a "blank cheque". The alternative special administration route, which Thames Water estimates could cost the taxpayer £2bn, remains under consideration after the creditors' plans stalled in June when the then environment secretary raised concerns with regulator Ofwat.