South East Water’s chief executive has resigned after a parliamentary inquiry delivered a damning verdict on the company’s leadership amid major water supply failures in Kent and Sussex.

Chris Train, the independent non-executive chairman, stepped down from the board with immediate effect, with Lisa Clement appointed as temporary chairwoman.

This move comes after the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee concluded that incompetent leadership and a lack of accountability had driven the company’s poor performance, while its inadequate governance structure failed to hold executives responsible.

Managers were subjected to questioning from parliamentarians on two separate occasions regarding their handling of widespread supply disruptions across Kent and Sussex.

Tens of thousands of homes were left without access to tap water, bathing facilities, or sanitation during the outages that took place between November and January.

In Thursday’s statement announcing Mr Train’s exit, South East Water said both sides agreed fresh independent board leadership was essential to steer the organisation through a critical period of positive change for the business, its customers, and local communities.

The company offered its apologies to those impacted by the operational shortcomings that resulted in diminished public trust and confirmed it had taken note of the Efra committee’s conclusions.

The business plans to double its expenditure on water supply infrastructure over the next five years.

The Efra committee’s report, published on Friday, declared that South East Water presented itself as an organisation devoid of proper leadership, suffering from cultural problems that raised serious questions about whether the executive team, led by chief executive David Hinton, could restore compliance and deliver the service customers deserve.

The report noted that leadership fundamentally shapes organisational culture, and that genuine cultural transformation at South East Water requires changes at the top.

The report also called on shareholders, including Utilities Trust of Australia, NatWest Group Pension Fund, and Desjardins Group alongside their associated holding companies, to ensure the company was held to account.

The organisation received harsh criticism for multiple failings that caused the supply disruptions and for its crisis response.

These deficiencies included poor maintenance of infrastructure, failure to monitor significant risks, underinvestment in resilience measures, and attributing issues to external factors such as climate change and increasing demand.

The company was also condemned for its chaotic and slow recovery efforts, inadequate communication with customers, and insufficient emergency water supplies through tankers and bottles, leaving some vulnerable people without provisions.

Mr Hinton gave evidence to the Efra committee in January, though MPs doubted the credibility of his statements and his readiness to accept blame.

The committee subsequently ordered the chief executive alongside Mr Train to answer further questions at a session held later that month.

During his appearance, Mr Hinton admitted he had made errors in handling the disruptions and acknowledged certain team shortcomings.

However, the committee’s report suggested management demonstrated a clear pattern of avoiding responsibility and engaging in collective thinking, which it argued was preventing the company from properly analysing problems and implementing solutions.

Committee chairman Alistair Carmichael said the MPs felt duty-bound to stress the gravity of this woefully inadequate situation.

He described it as an extraordinary failure of management and corporate governance.

He warned that the dangers of numerous communities enduring extended water supply interruptions, including schools, medical practices and care facilities, could not be emphasised enough.

Someone within the company must take charge, accept accountability for its failures, and put them right.

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey commented that residents of South East England had been deeply let down by the company’s complete leadership collapse. Some people were left without water for two weeks.

The chief executive and board of South East Water are clearly unsuited to their positions. They should be dismissed immediately for public safety.

In her statement, South East Water’s interim independent non-executive chair Ms Clement said the board expressed gratitude to Chris for his time at South East Water.

The company remained dedicated to delivering engineering and operational enhancements that would improve network resilience and transform the organisation for the benefit of customers and local communities.