David Hinton has resigned as chief executive of South East Water, the utility announced on Friday. He has led the business since 2020. His departure follows a spate of supply failures and outages that left tens of thousands of customers in Kent and Sussex without running water. The resignation came just days after chair Chris Train quit last week.

MPs had been demanding leadership changes since January, when a letter signed by parliamentarians called for a clear-out of executive leadership. Last week, lawmakers went further, calling for the company's management to be sacked over repeated outages and maintenance failures. A damning parliamentary report argued shareholders in the utility should take a "share of the blame" for the crisis.

South East Water said Hinton would stay in his role until a replacement is chosen "to allow an orderly transition over the summer period". Lisa Clement, the company's interim chair, said: "I would like to thank Dave for his many years of loyal service and dedication to South East Water Limited." The dual resignations mark the most significant leadership fallout from the utility's troubled operational record.