Alistair Carmichael

David Hinton, the chief executive of South East Water, has announced his intention to step down from his role. This decision comes in the wake of significant water supply outages that affected thousands of customers in Kent and Sussex. Hinton, who has been with the company since 2013, will remain in his position over the summer to facilitate a smooth transition while a successor is sought. He has also stated that he will forgo his annual bonus as a gesture of accountability for the "unacceptable outages." The company's chair had previously resigned following the same incident. Hinton's departure highlights the severe impact of the supply issues and the pressure on leadership within the water utility sector to address infrastructure and service reliability.