Danny Dyer plans boat flotilla up the River Thames in protest against sewage dumping
Actor Danny Dyer is preparing to lead a flotilla of boats up the River Thames in a protest against sewage pollution, with plans to sail to Westminster and deliver a petition carrying more than 315,000 signatures to Downing Street.
The EastEnders star, who played Mick Carter in the BBC soap, wants the government to end sewage discharges by water companies and has thrown his weight behind calls for the industry to be returned to public ownership. The petition, which he intends to hand over at No 10 to Prime Minister Andy Burnham, would cap weeks of escalating campaigning that has seen the actor become one of the most outspoken celebrity voices on the issue.
Those close to the actor say he feels intensely about the subject and has run out of patience. His plan is to lead the boats upriver to parliament, moor at Westminster pier and then walk with supporters to Downing Street to hand over the petition in person.
A campaign that found its voice in Kent
Dyer stepped into the spotlight on the issue last month when he attended the Stop The Sewage rally at Leysdown-on-Sea in Kent. He was joined by his daughter Dani Dyer and pop singer Becky Hill, and addressed a crowd of campaigners at the seaside gathering.
Speaking at the rally in September, the actor vowed to make what he called a lot more noise until the problem was taken seriously by politicians. In a fiery speech, he told supporters that ordinary people were paying ever-higher water bills only for sewage to be pumped into rivers and the sea, and urged the crowd to stick together to force change. He also took aim at wealthy elites, saying the gap between billionaires and people living in poverty had never been wider.
The Kent rally was held in support of a petition calling for water to be brought back into public ownership. Organisers said it had gathered more than 315,000 signatures, making it one of the largest environmental petitions of the year. Campaigners argue that private ownership has allowed shareholders and senior executives to profit while infrastructure has been left to deteriorate and bills have continued to climb.
What the petition is demanding
At the heart of the campaign is a demand that the water industry in England and Wales be returned to public hands. Ed Acteson, co-founder of the campaign group SOS Whitstable and the driving force behind the petition, has said the public has had enough of polluted waterways, failing infrastructure and rising bills while shareholders and executives continue to be rewarded. Water, he argues, is an essential public service and should be run for people and the environment rather than for private profit.
That view is echoed by industry veterans who joined the Kent protest. Cliff Roney, a GMB activist who has worked in the water industry for more than four decades, said he had watched the sector at its best and now at its worst. Infrastructure is falling apart, maintenance and investment have been neglected, no new reservoirs are being built and staff are stretched to breaking point, he said, warning that the country is heading towards a national catastrophe if the industry is not brought back into public ownership soon.
Dyer’s involvement has given the campaign a new level of visibility. His appearance alongside Becky Hill drew national attention, and footage from the rally was widely shared online. His daughter Dani, the former Love Island winner, took a break from her Strictly Come Dancing rehearsals to stand alongside her father at the demonstration, underlining how personally the family is taking the cause.
What happens next
Reports suggest the next rally linked to the campaign is expected as early as tomorrow, keeping up the pressure on ministers. The flotilla itself would be one of the most unusual celebrity-led protests the Thames has seen, taking the argument directly to the seat of government along the river itself.
The row over sewage discharges has dogged water companies for years, with campaigners accusing firms of routinely releasing untreated sewage into rivers and coastal waters. The Environment Agency and campaign groups have repeatedly highlighted the scale of spills, while water companies have insisted they are investing in infrastructure to reduce them. Public anger has grown as bills have risen, and the issue has become a fault line in debates about the ownership of essential services.
For Dyer, the cause appears to have become deeply personal. Friends say he has no intention of quieting down, and his plan to sail a flotilla to the doorstep of parliament suggests his September promise to make more noise was meant literally. Whether Downing Street is prepared for the sight of boats full of protesters arriving at Westminster pier remains to be seen.
