Doubts surround the Iraqi national team’s participation in the World Cup 2026 qualifiers, as flights remain suspended in some countries in the region following the US-Israeli war in Iran.

The Iraqi national team was preparing to face the winner of the Bolivia-Suriname match in Monterrey, Mexico, on 31 March, as part of the World Cup qualifying play-offs.

With the current developments in Iran, the Iraqi team is facing great difficulties in securing travel for its entire squad to Mexico to play the match.

Iraqi airspace has been closed since last Saturday, coinciding with the start of the war in Iran and the subsequent Iranian response of launching missiles and drones towards Israel and several countries in the region, causing widespread disruption to air traffic.

The Iraqi Football Association said in an official statement that FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation are fully aware of the developments surrounding the national team.

The statement added: ‘Due to the closure of airspace, our national team coach Graham Arnold is currently unable to leave the UAE, and a number of embassies remain closed, preventing some players and members of the technical and medical staff from completing the procedures for obtaining visas to enter Mexico.’

World Cup play-offs in doubt

These developments come after media reports in recent days about the possibility of moving the World Cup play-offs from Mexico to Qatar for security reasons. However, the ongoing war in Iran and the Middle East has cast a shadow over the sporting scene in the region and halted many activities, including in Qatar, less than 100 days before the start of the 2026 World Cup.

The teams involved in the qualifying play-offs are now awaiting a decision from FIFA on the fate of the matches, should the air and security crisis that is disrupting travel in the region continue.

In Iraq, the sporting community has high hopes for this opportunity to return to the World Cup finals via the international play-offs, after a long and difficult qualifying campaign.

The Iraqi public hopes that their national team will succeed in ending their years of absence from the World Cup, as Iraq’s last participation in the tournament was in 1986 in Mexico, when they appeared for the first and only time in their history in the finals.

In a related context,

the Iranian team’s participation in the 2026 World Cup also appears to be in doubt in light of the rapid military developments, especially since the next edition of the tournament will be held in the United States, Canada and Mexico, at a time when the United States is engaged in direct warfare with Iran, which may open the door to political and logistical complications that could affect the Iranian team’s participation in the tournament.

Featured image via Iraqi football

Israel’s genocidal Dahiya Doctrine was forged in its defeat in Lebanon in 2006. Now the settler-state has gone full circle, imposing Dahiya on the same place it was created back in 2006 — Beirut’s southern suburb. The southern ‘Dahiya’ in Arabic.

This is how we got here:

Israel violated the US-brokered Lebanon 2024 ‘ceasefire’ over 15,400 times since it was signed. Must be a world record. Yet a short salvo from Hezbollah 2 March was framed as a signal outrage by legacy media. That attack has been cited by the settler-colonial state as a pretext to invade.

Not satisfied with pulling the US and her allies into a runaway war with Iran, Israeli troops have pushed into Lebanon with airstrikes pummelling the capital Beirut.

Some key background…

The Canary reported the early moments of the new war here. You can read about the secretive Israel-US ‘side letter’ pact which gave Israel carte blanche to keep bombing through the ‘ceasefire’ here. And our extensive coverage of Israel’s ceasefire regular breaches here.

Israel enforces mass displacement

The number of civilians who’ve fled the Israeli attack is staggering, as the World Health Organisation (WHO) has reported:

🔴 The World Health Organization says the war is driving large-scale displacement across the region.

➤ Around 100,000 people have left Iran since the fighting began.

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➤ Up to 1 million people in southern Lebanon are being forced to move following yesterday’s evacuation orders,… pic.twitter.com/9GJtIYSOvP

— Drop Site (@DropSiteNews) March 5, 2026

The exodus is a result of Israel issuing a series of preposterous mass displacement orders:

🔴 Here is a copy of the map published by the Israeli army around 3 p.m., when they ordered the complete evacuation of Beirut’s southern suburbs in preparation for impending bombings.

The blurred outlines of the map posted by the Israeli army make it impossible to precisely… pic.twitter.com/TEXsZQicwd

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— L’Orient Today (@lorienttoday) March 5, 2026

For Zionists with an apocalyptic vision of ‘Greater Israel’ the entire region is theirs. Their strategy to acquire it is the genocidal Dahiya Doctrine.

Dahiya’s scorched earth implications

Paul Rogers, emeritus professor of peace studies, explained Dahiya in the context of Gaza in December 2023. Surveying the early devastation in the enclave, he said the horror spoke to a:

specific Israeli way of war that has evolved since 1948, through to its current Dahiya doctrine, which is said to have originated in the 2006 war in Lebanon.

Rogers said:

In July of that year, facing salvoes of rockets fired from southern Lebanon by Hezbollah militias, the IDF fought an intense air and ground war.

However:

Neither succeeded, and the ground troops took heavy casualties; but the significance of the war lies in the nature of the air attacks. It was directed at centres of Hezbollah power in the Dahiya area, in the southern suburbs of Beirut, but also on the Lebanese economic infrastructure.

It was there in Dahiya that Israel’s genocidal impulses mutated into a new policy of annihilation.

Disproportionate force

Rogers explained:

This was the deliberate application of “disproportionate force”, such as the destruction of an entire village, if deemed to be the source of rocket fire.

One graphic description of the result was that “around a thousand Lebanese civilians were killed, a third of them children. Towns and villages were reduced to rubble; bridges, sewage treatment plants, port facilities and electric power plants were crippled or destroyed.”

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In short, Israeli policy goes far beyond fighting ‘terrorists’ and aims to destroy the very means of life.

The policy came to fruition two years after the 2006 war via the Institute for National Security Studies at Tel Aviv University. The university published a report titled Disproportionate Force: Israel’s Concept of Response in Light of the Second Lebanon War:

Written by IDF reserve Col Gabi Siboni, it promoted the Dahiya doctrine as the way forward in response to paramilitary attacks. The head of the Israeli military forces in Lebanon during the war, and overseeing the doctrine, was General Gadi Eizenkot. He went on to be the IDF chief of general staff, retiring in 2019, but was brought back as an adviser to Netanyahu’s war cabinet in October.

Rogers wrote:

Siboni’s paper for the institute made it crystal clear that the Dahiya doctrine goes well beyond defeating an opponent in a brief conflict, and is about having a truly long-lasting impact.

Disproportionate force means just that, extending to the destruction of the economy and state infrastructure with many civilian casualties, with the intention of achieving a sustained deterrent impact.

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That doctrine, born in Lebanon, was then pressure tested in Gaza over the course of several wars. And while a core Israel war aim in Gaza after 7 October was to destroy Hamas:

The longer-term aim is to make it utterly clear that Israel will not stand for any opposition. Its armed forces will maintain sufficient power to control any insurgency and, backed by its powerful nuclear capabilities, will not allow any regional state to pose a threat.

The Israeli military is back in Lebanon — if it can ever be so to have left — and as it pushes north it intends to impose this doctrine. Fine-tuned over two decades, the doctrine is with intentional civilian harm at its centre. And as a new regional war accelerates, the dogs of war are baying for blood.

Featured image via Aljazeera

The emerging quagmire and resistance to the illegal US-Israeli war on Iran seem to have pushed the Donald Trump regime’s war propaganda into hyperdrive. But US citizens have seen this toxic story before. So cheap words and movie montages are unlikely to convince more people to back wasting billions on another forever war.

‘Embarrassing’ US war propaganda

The unprovoked US-Israeli offensive is already less popular than Vietnam. And just days in, there is open, widespread criticism of it in the US. This is hardly surprising, considering it has so far killed over 1,200 people in Iran and sparked regional chaos.

In this context, Trump’s White House has shared a vomit-worthy propaganda video. But far from helping, it has made his regime look even more like coked-up, roid-raging incels playing shoot-em-up games in their parents’ basements. And people were quick to point out its awfulness, with one calling it:

possibly the most embarrassing thing I’ve ever seen from any Government ever

lol interesting movie choices

Braveheart: The entire movie is about resisting imperial occupation by a more powerful nation. Using it to celebrate American military power is exactly backwards — we are the empire.

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Saul Goodman: A corrupt, morally bankrupt lawyer who helps a…

— Adam Del (@adam__xyz) March 6, 2026

Wild that this is the reality: pic.twitter.com/z36Cylfi5n

— The Political Bitcoiner (@PoliticalBTC) March 6, 2026

The White House has also been putting out laughably fawning authoritarian phrases about “Unstoppable Momentum”, such as:

Under the decisive leadership of President Donald J. Trump, America’s unparalleled warfighters are delivering devastating strikes in Operation Epic Fury

And it seems to have taken tips from the propagandists of George Orwell’s 1984:

The only way. 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/GQWt4LwsNH

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) March 5, 2026

The corporate media, meanwhile, has been playing along. It has:

Two nuclear powers — the US and Israel — are rampaging through Western Asia in violation of international law, disrupting energy supplies and destroying lives. And on top of that, Donald Trump’s regime is treating people in the US and around the world like idiots.

If the reaction online and offline is anything to go by, however, Trump’s war propaganda may be doing more harm to his reputation than good.

Featured image via the Canary

Morrisons has announced that all accessible toilets in its supermarkets, across England, Scotland and Wales are now stoma-friendly. The initiative aims to support independence, dignity and comfort for people living with a stoma.

The new facilities arrive following customer feedback. They represent a practical step towards strengthening access to appropriate facilities beyond the home.

Stoma-friendly facilities

Morrisons stoma-friendly toilets include features advised by Colostomy UK. These include:

• Hooks for clothing or bags.
• Shelf for supplies.
• Bin for discreet disposal.
• Mirror to help with appliance checks.

Morrisons worked with MSP and advocate for the stoma community Edward Mountain to introduce the new facilities. Mountain wrote to the retailer to share his story and request the toilets be stoma-friendly. He was diagnosed with bowel cancer in 2022 and had a stoma whilst his bowel recovered.

Currently around one in 335 people in the UK are living with a stoma. Individuals of all ages may have one, which can be temporary or for the rest of their life. Stoma surgery can take place to treat a range of illnesses including cancer, diverticulitis and Crohn’s disease or following a trauma to the abdomen.

Colostomy UK welcomed the commitment to stoma-friendly toilets in all stores. The charity raises awareness and champions for simple changes to ensure people with a stoma can live full, active lives without unnecessary barriers.

David Scott, corporate affairs director at Morrisons, said:

We’re really pleased to introduce these improvements in all our stores after listening to customers and with guidance from Colostomy UK.

We worked closely with Edward Mountain, who wrote to us about his personal condition and we found his letter incredibly moving. From this, we recognised that living with a stoma is often a hidden experience that still brings practical challenges in daily life.

By making facilities easier to use across all Morrisons stores, we hope this brings reassurance when out and about and represents a step towards reducing everyday barriers and improving access to suitable facilities across the country.

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Conservative MSP Mountain commented:

As a bowel cancer survivor, and as someone who’s lived with the consequences of bowel surgery and a stoma, I cannot emphasise how important this is. These new facilities will make bathrooms easier to use, more accessible, and spell the end of the difficulties, embarrassment and discomfort many of us faced to this point.

I am immensely grateful to Morrisons, who engaged with me positively from the outset and have come good on their pledge. I hope other supermarkets and major public-facing businesses take heed of this excellent example.

Giovanni Cinque, marketing and campaigns manager at Colostomy UK said:

Our research shows that access to suitable toilets remains one of the biggest barriers to people living confidently with a stoma. Many tell us they carefully plan journeys, cut trips short, or only go out when absolutely necessary because they are unsure what facilities will be available.

Stoma friendly features such as a shelf, a bin for discreet disposal, hooks and a mirror may seem simple, but they make a real difference to comfort, dignity and peace of mind.

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We welcome Morrisons’ commitment to introducing these changes in stores nationwide and thank them for listening to the stoma community and taking practical action to improve access.

The locations of all Morrisons stores and the availability of facilities will appear on Colostomy UK’s online listings of stoma-friendly toilet venues. This is a resource to make planning trips, outings, and daily activities easier by highlighting venues that offer practical, considerate facilities.

Featured image via Colostomy UK

Just weeks after the illegal kidnapping of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in Caracas, UK-based Shell has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Venezuelan government to begin liquified natural gas (LNG) production in the Dragon gas field.

The agreement, announced during US Interior Secretary Doug Burgum’s visit to Caracas, places the British company in front of the race to exploit Venezuela’s resources.

Burgum told Fox News that companies like Shell are already “signing deals and moving this opportunity forward,” noting that they joined American firms including Baker Hughes, Halliburton, and KBR in responding to President Trump’s call to energy leaders in early January.

Burgum says US-Venezuela ties moving at ‘Trump speed,’ will help keep energy costs down for Americans https://t.co/EcZ3rtaZ7Y

— FOX Business (@FoxBusiness) March 6, 2026

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Fox reported that

Burgum was meeting with oil and gas executives, including Chevron and Shell, along with Venezuelan business leaders during his trip to highlight critical mineral partnerships.

Historical meddling

This is absolutely no surprise to anyone who has followed Shell’s history including its role in the genocide in Gaza.

According to Declassified UK, BP and Shell had been authorized to operate in Venezuela under new licences from the US Treasury in mid-February. Declassified said that “this comes after decades of UK interference in Venezuela’s oil and gas industry.”

🚨Following the illegal kidnapping of Nicolás Maduro, BP and Shell have been cleared to operate in Venezuela under newly issued licences from the US treasury department.

This comes after decades of UK interference in Venezuela’s oil and gas industry.
👉https://t.co/ItX1m4YdSm pic.twitter.com/ZGCWU48Joh

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— Declassified UK (@declassifiedUK) February 18, 2026

For instance, in 2001, Shell and BP lobbied Tony Blair to pressure Hugo Chávez into softening his Hydrocarbons Law, with the US noting BP stood to lose from the reforms, according to Declassified’s expose.  It also detailed Shell’s covert funding of CIA-linked propaganda in the 1960s in Venezuela.

Imperial hubris

In the immediate aftermath of Maduro’s kidnapping Telegraph gave space to an editorial talking about this exact plunder that we are seeing now.

The editorial read:

BP and Shell cannot afford to miss out on Venezuelan gold rush
The potential gains for Western oil companies will ultimately trump any ethical considerations

Marlow further reflects seemingly fondly on BP’s history in Iran saying:

Still, the global oil industry has been built on the exploits of buccaneers daring to venture into far-flung, dangerous corners of the world and do business under the most hazardous of circumstances.
BP’s roots can be traced back to the discovery of oil in the Persian desert at the turn of the 20th century by the British entrepreneur called William Knox D’Arcy.
When D’Arcy’s drills eventually struck oil, British imperial soldiers were summoned to surround the area and protect it from any local opportunists.

To describe the local population—the rightful inheritors and caretakers of their land’s resources – as ‘local opportunists’ shows that imperial hubris knows no bounds.

Meanwhile, BBC interviewed BP’s former chief executive, Lord Browne, who speculated that BP and Shell were already lobbying the government to secure a role in redeveloping Venezuela’s oil and gas assets.

The Israel link

According to Joseph Bouchard writing for Responsible Statecraft (RS), the overthrow of Maduro was strategically useful for US and British oil giants like BP and Shell and Israel.

The Chavismo ideology supports Palestinian liberation, aligning itself with other self-avowedly pro-Palestine US adversary states like Cuba.

In Israel’s calculus, the overthrow of Maduro was a blow to Iran, a safeguard for U.S. oil interests, and one more step in building out a pro-American, pro-Israel bloc in Latin America.

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For Israeli hardliners, removing one of the last major anti-Zionist governments in the Americas weakened Iran’s regional influence, according to RS

With Israel cheering from the sidelines and US officials boasting of “Trump speed,” the plunder of Venezuela’s – ofcourse, UK couldn’t be out of the looting.

Featured image via the Canary

On 5 March, Trump ignominiously sacked Kristi Noem from her state-level role as Homeland Security secretary. Oklahoma senator Markwayne Mullin will take up her place at the end of the month, pending confirmation from the US Senate.

Readers will, by now, no doubt be familiar with Noem as the public face of America’s far-right anti-immigration policies. In particular, Noem called both Renee Good and Alex Pretti ‘domestic terrorists’ after their murder by ICE agents last year.

Although, let’s be clear here. Trump didn’t fire Noem because she’s a lying fascist at the head of a pack of murderers. That would be hypocritical. Rather, Trump knows that public opinion has turned against his immigration policies, and he needed a sacrificial lamb.

Fascism and fuckups

In place of her previous role, Trump is now shunting Noem off to a job as a ‘special envoy’ for the US. She’ll be joining a Western hemisphere security initiative called ‘the Shield of the Americas’.

Among the former Homeland Security chief’s laundry list of highly public fuckups, Noem accidentally let slip the identity of ICE murderer Jonathan David Ross. She also claimed that Ross had internal bleeding, which was later exposed as a lie.

Other examples of Noem’s outright fabrications include the utterly false claim that an immigrant deportee was a cannibal. She also published a photo of a Black protester that was manipulated to look like she was crying.

Noem’s tenure at Homeland Security saw her join ICE raids wearing a bulletproof vest, promote policies to close the Mexican border, and spend $220m of federal funds on adverts. Most of those adverts, she appeared in personally.

All horrifying, and all par for the course for the Trump regime. As such, she’s acted as something of a Nazi-slogan-spouting figurehead for the Republicans’ vicious ‘security’ policies.

Sacrificial wolf

On 3 March, Noem attempted to defend her spending at a Capitol Hill hearing. There, she stated that Trump was aware of the cost of the ad campaign. Two days later, Trump claimed that he “never knew anything about it”, shortly before firing her.

However, this was far from the first indicator that Noem had fallen from the US dictator’s favour. During the sweeping protests against ICE in Minneapolis, Trump sent in ‘border tsar’ and former ICE director Tom Homan, rather than Noem herself.

The fact that Trump has sacked Noem is no indicator of his authoritarianism softening. Rather, the US dictator has seen that his public approval is plummeting, particularly on the subject of immigration.

Turns out that using a masked secret police to murder and kidnap people to concentration camps makes you unpopular, even in America.

As such, Noem has made a convenient sacrifice to make Trump look like he’s relenting. Meanwhile, nothing will change under Markwayne Mullin, save maybe that ICE will get a little more cautious, a little more covert in their actions.

The problem was never that they’re fascists — the problem was they got caught too many times.

Featured image via the Canary

UK Deputy PM David Lammy was asked on Sky News for his assessment of the recent mass fatalities after a suspected US precision bomb hit a girls’ primary school in Iran. Asked if the targeted attack constitutes a breach of international law, Lammy attempted to deflect saying:

This is a febrile war zone.

Sky’s Kamali Melbourne pointed out that active war zones don’t justify hitting schools, which are protected sites under international law. Seemingly unaffected by the mass murder of young Iranian girls, Lammy suggests he’s waiting for the say-so of his overlord US President Trump:

Well, I don’t know the veracity of that statement, and I haven’t seen the intelligence, but it is absolutely for the Americans to comment on what has happened there.

Once again, UK officials choose to look away, refusing to condemn war crimes committed against brown, Muslim, and Arab people.

“You recognise.. if a school was targeted that would constitute a breach of intl law?”

“This is a febrile war zone”

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“That doesn’t excuse hitting schools..”

“… its for the Americans to comment on what’s happened there”

So you’ve never commented on Russian war crimes, right? https://t.co/ZjLLDxNixu pic.twitter.com/vjsdCaWAxm

— Saul Staniforth (@SaulStaniforth) March 6, 2026

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Lammy needs to learn: no intelligence justifies murdering children

This deplorable interview with David Lammy cannot be ignored. Lammy appears unable or unwilling to show compassion and demand the US protect civilians in Iran in accordance with international law. Even worse, the Deputy PM appears to suggest that intelligence might actually justify the US attack. A targeted attack which reportedly murdered 165 Iranian schoolgirls. Therefore, Lammy seems to believe that the precision bomb reportedly dropped by US forces on an all-girls primary school in Minab could be ‘legitimate’ under international law.

Rightfully, there was uproar from Western politicians when Israeli children were killed on October 7th, 2023. However, if Palestine and Iran have taught us anything, it is that governments in the West are more than happy to ignore the mass murder of brown children altogether. A sinister viewpoint that will be a stain on our society in the decades to come.

Hypocrisy

Lammy has been more than happy to call out war crimes against white people, at the hands of those he is publicly against such as Putin in Russia. Yet his silence now just exposes the duplicitous nature of this despicable man’s compassion and understanding:

Horrific reports from Bucha of mass graves and bodies strewn across streets.

I have no doubt war crimes are being committed.

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We need a special tribunal to prosecute Vladimir Putin personally for his war of aggression.

— David Lammy (@DavidLammy) April 3, 2022

Nevertheless, we have long had to endure his duplicity, as the failed statesman repeatedly shows a woeful inability to recognise right from wrong. It also reinforces the sense that Lammy often avoids engaging with something as silly as honesty and transparency. Discussing his backroom dealings with Israeli Zionist official Gideon Sa’ar, Skwawkbox wrote in October:

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has refused to disclose notes concerning a ‘secret meeting’ in April between David Lammy, at the time Keir Starmer’s Foreign Secretary, and his Israeli counterpart Gideon Sa’ar – because they could be “open to misinterpretation” and might harm the UK’s relationship with (genocidal) Israel, Scottish paper The National has revealed. The FCDO blocked publication of any papers relating to the meeting.

Patrick Harvie, a Green party member of the Scottish Parliament described the government’s excuse for hiding details of the meeting as “dangerous“:

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“The idea that the public cannot see these documents because we might misinterpret them seems extraordinary, and if that excuse is allowed to stand, it would set a dangerous precedent.”

Sickening from @DavidLammy he never has any problems condemning Russia and accusing it of war crimes. But when it comes to America and apartheid Israel he plays the Mr Bean card.

Is sad that a man who cut his political teeth on the right side of history opposing apartheid South… https://t.co/1UZa5YKIpK

— Martin L. Zinn (@MartinLZinn) March 6, 2026

History will judge

As with Palestine, the government refuses to acknowledge crimes committed by its allies. As in October, perhaps Lammy believes the British public will ‘misinterpret’ the law and wrongly assume that everyone lives under the same rules-based order and that all lives hold equal value. That would surely scupper relations with Zionist US and Israel. After all, our leaders clearly believe that factors of religion or race should absolutely determine whether governments condemn mass murder.

Instead, the Starmer government refuse to apply independent legal reasoning and choose to continue this pattern of duplicity, placing US and Israeli interests above Britain’s own. This might be rewarding right now, leaving elected officials with heavier pockets and increased comfort. But the history books will not write kindly of those who refused to say ‘stop’ to tyrannical maniacs.

They may apply one sordid rule to the US and its allies and another to those they seek to dominate.

But justice, sooner or later, always prevails.

Featured image via the Canary

New data from the House of Commons Department of environment, food and rural affairs (DEFRA) committee has exposed the debt collection practices of robber-baron water companies.

These water companies are sending bailiffs to tens of thousands of homes across England and Wales. Often, the debts they’re collecting on are for less that £1,000.

DEFRA committee chair Alistair Carmichael MP said:

It is interesting and concerning to see the extent of their use of bailiffs over time and to see such differing approaches. The figures should be seen in the context of various cost of living shocks that have hit households over recent years.

For any family or individual to be subject to legal action is no small matter and can be a cause of severe stress and anxiety. We would urge any company to review its practices and ensure they are as sparing and compassionate as possible. We have referred this information to Citizens Advice and the Consumer Council for Water for further scrutiny.

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Water companies: one rule for them, another for us

As Carmichael alluded to, the collection methods the suppliers employ vary massively according to where you are in the UK. Overall, Yorkshire Water, Southern Water, and South West Water (SWW) made the heaviest use of bailiffs, when the data is adjusted for population. Meanwhile, Wessex Water hasn’t used bailiffs for over a decade.

However, other companies also made massive use of debt collectors on specific years. For example, Severn Trent sent bailiffs out 11,574 times over 2022. Even more egregiously, Southern Water instructed bailiffs a staggering 15,707 times in 2019.

Labour MP John McDonnell highlighted the fact that water companies have broken the law hundreds of times in recent years, with little real backlash. He said that:

Only five directors of water companies have been prosecuted in the last 30 years. Contrast that with the thousands of mainly poor people the water companies set the bailiffs on each year.

The system is more interested in prosecuting families that are struggling to pay their water bills than the company directors responsible for pollutin g our rivers and seas while lining their pockets from profiteering at the expense of both their customers and our environment.

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With that in mind, let’s take a look at what the suppliers have to say for themselves, shall we?

Yorkshire Water

A Yorkshire Water spokesperson said:

Our focus for any customer entering arrears is to assess vulnerability and provide support where necessary, through early engagement, financial support schemes, clear communications and signposting to external assistance with financial issues. Enforcement action is a last resort and is only taken against customers who we determine, using internal data and external credit agencies, have the ability to pay their bill but are choosing not to.

Well that’s nice, isn’t it? Only, Yorkshire Water has done some other fucking around with people’s debts recently, haven’t they?

Labour recently introduced a 15% cap on the amount that the DWP could take from people’s benefits to pay off debt. Yorkshire Water used this as an excuse to complain that it would lose out on that debt collection. Previously, it made £11m a year from the DWP garnishing benefits.

So yeah, Yorkshire Water claims that it only sends bailiffs to the houses of those who can afford it. They just forgot to mention that, until April 2025, they had the DWP doing the bailiffs’ job for them.

Southern Water

A Southern Water spokesperson said:

We work hard to ensure customers who are struggling get the support they need, such as our social tariff schemes. We’re delivering our biggest ever investment plan, spending around £8.5bn to meet the expectations of our customers in protecting the environment and improving services.

£8.5bn is an awfully large number. What a magnificent investment in Southern Water’s infrastructure. Only, maintaining that infrastructure and protecting the environment is literally a water company’s job. 

Southern Water’s spokesperson regrettably failed to mention that it needs to invest that much because it hasn’t been doing its job. In the Environmental Agency’s most recent report, Southern Water was guilty of 15 serious pollution incidents. This made it the second worst environmental offender in the country.

Then, of course, there’s the small matter that we already paid to fix the shoddy infrastructure with our past bills.

South West Water

A South West Water spokesperson said:

We only ever use enforcement action as a last resort. Our priority is always to support customers who are struggling, and we offer a wide range of financial support.

Lovely, that – mind you, there’d probably be a bit more financial support available if SWW weren’t also busy awarding its CEO a massive £300,000 pay rise.

Meanwhile, the water that SWW delivered to Devon was so riddled with parasites that it caused an outbreak of diarrhoea in 2024. Just two days ago, on 4 March, SWW pleaded guilty to the criminal offence of causing those infections. They affected 2,500 homes, causing 150 people to fall ill.

According to the Guardian, SWW will likely face a fine of “hundreds of thousands of pounds”. In the same year as the outbreak, Pennon Group – SWW’s parent company – announced an 8.6% increase in its underlying operating profits, bringing the total to £166.3m.  

Thieves and thugs

There are words for the likes of Yorkshire Water, Southern Water, South West Water and their CEOs. Unfortunately, we’re not allowed to publish most of them.

For now, we’ll settle for calling them a pack of state-sanctioned thieves in command of an army of thugs. These companies profit from a monopoly on fucking water, the most essential resource of life.

They claim they need money for infrastructure maintenance, but for some strange reason, the infrastructure isn’t maintained. When we don’t pay, they set the bailiffs on us. When they don’t pay, they get a slap on the wrist and an insignificant fine – and they still pay out dividends to the shareholders.

Fines are not enough. Ofwat and the Environmental Agency are not enough. The courts are not enough. Only stripping these companies of their control over our water will end the – very literal – shitshow that is privatisation.

Featured image via the Canary