Water bosses miss out on £6,500,000 in bonuses after watchdog steps in
Findings are available in the analysis below.2 findings
Left out here: Leaves out what changes the picture
Metro never says that Thames Water paid its chief executive, Chris Weston, a previously deferred bonus of £99,000 during the year despite the ban. It also omits Ofwat's ruling that the company's future owners, not customers, must pay for it. Without this, a reader of a headline saying bosses "miss out" on bonuses believes no boss at the nine firms received one.
Metro reports Ofwat's announcement that nine water firms' bosses lost £6.5 million in bonuses and the regulator's warning about large pay rises, with the claims properly attributed. It spells the Southern Water chief executive's name three different ways. It also leaves out that Thames Water's chief executive was still paid a £99,000 deferred bonus despite the ban.
Misspells a named person
Minor
“Gosden would have bagged”
Why this matters
Metro calls the Southern Water chief executive "Gosden" here, after calling him "Gasden" earlier and before calling him "Gasdan" later.
The impression it gives
A reader cannot tell which spelling is right, or whether the article refers to one person or more than one.
The context
The article uses three different spellings for the same named person, so at least two of them are wrong.
How we know
Elsewhere in the article“Lawrence Gasden, the Southern Water CEO”
Elsewhere in the article“Lawrence Gasdan will not get a bonus”
Leaves out what changes the picture
Minor
What is missing
Metro never says that Thames Water paid its chief executive, Chris Weston, a previously deferred bonus of £99,000 during the year despite the ban. It also omits Ofwat's ruling that the company's future owners, not customers, must pay for it. Without this, a reader of a headline saying bosses "miss out" on bonuses believes no boss at the nine firms received one.
“Such significant hikes risk ‘damaging public trust and creating a perception that companies are circumventing the [bonus ban] rule’, the regulator warned.”
Metro quotes Ofwat's warning exactly and attributes it to the regulator rather than stating it in its own voice.
“including severe pollution, breaching duties to consumers and – in the case of Welsh water company Dŵr Cymru – three criminal convictions”
Metro names the concrete failures behind the ban, including the criminal convictions, rather than leaving them vague.
“Thames Water CEO Chris Weston got a 14% pay rise this year, while the same firm’s CFO Steve Buck got an increase of 26%.”
Metro names the executives and gives the specific pay rises that prompted the regulator's concern.