Chris Murray, MP for Edinburgh East and Musselburgh, has called for urgent action from the Scottish Government following a series of pollution incidents that have forced beach closures and seen wet wipes and sanitary products wash up on local shores.
The intervention comes after repeated sewage overflow incidents at Portobello Beach, including recent occasions where the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) had to advise the public against entering the water.
Neighbouring Fisherrow Sands has been classified as having poor water quality for the past three years, while Portobello Beach only managed a ‘sufficient’ rating this year.
Chris Murray MP © 2025 Martin McAdam
“I am outraged that Scottish Water executives can rake in huge bonuses while my constituents are being told not to enter the sea because of disgusting human sewage,” Mr Murray said. “It stinks so much my eyes are watering.”
“At community beach clean-ups we regularly find wet wipes, sanitary products and other sewage-related waste washed up on our shores.
“If that debris is making its way into the sea, then human sewage is too,” he claimed. “It is disgusting and completely unacceptable.”
Chief Executive Alex Plant was handed a £115,000 bonus on top of his £315,000 salary, while chief financial officer Alan Dingwall took home a £79,000 payment on top of his salary of £217,000.
Chief operating officer Peter Farrer was awarded £64,000 on top of his £176,000 salary, bringing the total paid out in bonuses to £258,000.
The controversy over the £258,000 payout has been further inflamed by recent household water bill increases of around £42 annually.
Scottish Water defended its executive bonuses, arguing they are performance-based and reflect strong overall customer satisfaction along with a reduction in serious incidents.
In a statement, they said: “Performance-related payments are part of an organisation-wide scheme that applies across Scottish Water. It is not automatic and is payable only if the organisation meets performance targets.
“In 2025/26, Scottish Water delivered its second-best year for operational performance, including record customer satisfaction, its lowest ever number of serious pollution incidents, high drinking water quality and continued progress on the largest investment programme in its history.”
Fisherrow Sands is one of only 3 beaches in the country to have the worst possible pollution rating © Fisherrow Sands by Ian Dodds, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
However, Mr Murray insisted: “My constituents care deeply about our beaches and coastal environment.
“They expect the Scottish Government to punish a publicly-owned company that does this, not stand lazily by while its bosses award themselves wildly high bonuses.”
“My constituents deserve clean beaches, full transparency on sewage discharges, and confidence that organisations are being held properly to account when standards fall short,” he concluded.
Mr Murray is now calling for a complete review of executive bonuses and the introduction of stronger accountability measures, including making all data on sewage overflow monitoring fully accessible to the public.
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “Scottish Water is subject to independent economic regulation, one of the most transparent and demanding improvement regimes of any public body in Scotland.
“We expect it to continue outperforming the tough efficiency targets set by its regulator.
“Like any large organisation, Scottish Water must compete with the private sector to attract and retain the skilled people needed to run the business and deliver the improvements government has asked for.
“Bonuses are only paid when demanding, independently verified targets are exceeded.
“The remuneration package for the Chief Executive and senior team, including salary and bonus, remains significantly lower than at comparable utility companies.”
This article or a part of it is provided by the news agency Deadline News Limited and published here with permission.
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