The MP for Evesham has defended the Conservative party’s stance after it came under fire for voting against changes to prevent sewage pollution.

Nigel Huddleston, MP for Mid Worcestershire, was one of the 268 MPs who last week voted to reject an amendment to the Environment Bill tabled in the Lords which sought to place a legal duty on water companies to reduce sewage discharge into rivers.

Currently, water companies can pump rainwater and small amounts of untreated sewage into rivers through release valves to prevent sewage backing up into homes following heavy rain or storms.

Mr Huddleston says the criticism of the decision is unwarranted.

He said: “In contrast to some of the online speculation and misunderstanding, the Environment Bill specifically includes significant measures to tackle the issue of storm overflows.

“These include introducing a requirement on water companies to monitor water quality impacts of sewage discharges and a new amendment that ensures water companies reduce the adverse impact of discharges.”

With the Conservative Party defending their stance, peers in the House of Lords have now forced a climbdown, with a 153 majority, while the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs stated on Tuesday, October 26, that the bill will be further strengthened to reduce the discharge of raw sewage.

Mr Huddleston added: “By September next year, the Government will produce a plan to reduce storm overflows and their causes along with a report of the costs and benefits of eliminating overflows entirely.

“I hope my constituents can understand why I cannot support an amendment that committed to huge expenditure without due analysis and planning.”

A primary concern raised by MPs was the cost to the public however environment secretary George Eustice has since admitted that the proposed changes will still result in rising water bills.

On the costs connected, Mr Huddleston said: “Voting for this would effectively be writing a blank cheque with no clarity on what it would actually achieve.

“Considering the age of the infrastructure, the cost of eliminating storm overflows would be between £150 to £600bn. By way of context, 1p in income tax raises about £5bn.”