South West Water’s (SWW) CEO Susan Davy has come under fire over her performance during yesterday’s cross-party Parliamentary session, in which she defended her pay rise and the company’s actions during last summer’s cryptosporidium outbreak.

Ms Davy, who is also the chief executive of SWW’s parent company, Pennon, told a group of MPs she was “sorry” for last May’s outbreak, recognising how “devastating” the incident had been for the community.

More than 100 people fell ill with cryptosporidiosis when a parasite got into the water supply, prompting a boil notice by the company.

However, many residents said they began reporting vomiting and diarrhoea symptoms well before SWW raised the alert on May 15.

During the gruelling parliamentary session, Ms Davy confirmed that the UK Health Security Agency (UKSHA) had detected the bug earlier, but that SWW delayed issuing a boil notice for 24 hours because the firm’s own testing procedures had given the tap supply the all-clear on May 13.

Water industry expert Alan Smith, who oversaw the privatisation of the sector in 1989, described Ms Davy’s performance as “embarrassing, humiliating, toe curling” and called for the CEO to resign.

He said: “It’s time to go, Susan. The CEO insisted that the company had an open and transparent policy to customers, regulators, but then it began to unravel.”

He also rounded on Ms Davy for being unable to confirm whether SWW had settled court claims with customers on condition they agreed to sign non-disclosure agreements (NDAs).

He said she “stumbled badly and embarrassingly”, adding that the NDA policy, if true, was a “bizarre” attempt to “keep customers’ mouths shut”.

South Devon MP Caroline Voaden also weighed in, criticising Ms Davy’s hefty pay rise, which has increased her annual salary to £511,000.

“Hearing Susan Davy say she understands how devastating the cryptosporidium outbreak was for Brixham and those who became ill was galling to say the least.

“How can she claim to understand when weeks later she accepted a £300,000 pay rise? No one with an ounce of compassion who oversaw a crisis of this magnitude, where people became ill because of their company’s ineptitude, can think such an action was appropriate. Yet, Susan Davy did,” said Ms Voaden.

She described Ms Davy’s comments on customer satisfaction as “shockingly hollow” while slamming SWW’s NDA demands and woeful environmental record.

However, unlike other critics she stopped short of calling for her resignation.

Conservative MP David Reed went further. He posted a comment on X, saying he found it “outrageous” that Ms Davy had not faced the media and taken accountability for her company’s mistakes, adding: “If she can’t do this basic task then she must let someone more responsible take over.”

Gerrie Messer, a former Totnes parliamentary candidate for the Labour Party, also commented on X, saying Ms Davy “looked about as sorry as Donald Trump is about meeting Putin!!!!”