A WYE Valley MP says that environment officials’ efforts to work together to tackle the worsening problem of pollution in the River Wye have been a "deplorable" failure.

Hereford and South Herefordshire MP Jesse Norman blasted "a lack of leadership" from agencies on both sides of the English-Welsh border in an interview for BBC Radio 4’s Today programme last Tuesday (January 4).

But a senior official hit back at Mr Norman’s claims on Wednesday (January 5), saying that it was "ridiculous" that the Conservative MP had happily thrown the statutory agencies "under the bus".

Speaking to the Today programme, Mr Norman said: "What I have seen, having spent two years working on this, has been a lack of leadership a lack of integrated cross-border care.

"Part of the problem is the Wye runs across the English-Welsh border.

"The agencies involved - Natural Resources Wales, Natural England and the Environment Agency - have done a deplorable job so far in their failure to come together with a single all-river action plan."

The MP added that while there was "fantastic" work being done by individuals to improve the river, "there’s got to be some leadership from the regulators and agencies, and that has to be supported by the government as well".

Earlier in the programme, BBC climate editor Justin Rowlatt said that one reason for the rise of pollution in the river has been a doubling in the number of chickens being raised in the area from 10 million to 20 million over the last five years.

His report also highlighted local efforts to improve the river’s condition.

Local campaigner Angela Jones told Mr Rowlatt that she had seen the problem increasing markedly over the last five years, adding: "This river, which is supposed to be the nation’s favourite, is literally being used as an open sewer."

But Mr Norman said: "I am much less confident than Justin and his report made it seem.

"This is a really big long-term problem, and I do not think that it’s right to strike a note of confidence at this stage."

The MP was also pressed by host Mishal Husain over his refusal late last year to back an amendment to the Environment Bill that would have penalised water companies which allowed untreated sewage into rivers.

"There was a lot of misunderstanding about this", Mr Norman said.

"The Lords’ amendment was tremendous in principle but unfortunately not enforceable."

He added the new rules which were eventually put into the legislation were a "vast improvement" on those originally proposed.

"Sewage is 25 per cent of the problem," he added.

"The real problem is the embedded phosphates (from farming) and that requires monitoring and enforcement, which means money and cross-border leadership.

"That’s not what we’ve seen so far, and we need it."

Following the interview, the Environment Agency’s former area manager for Herefordshire and Worcestershire Dave Throup, who retired from his position at the end of December after 22 years, tweeted: "Ridiculous to hear Jesse Norman happily throwing the statutory agencies under the bus."

Mr Norman had called for more enforcement, monitoring and planning - "all funded entirely through grant in aid which his Government has cut by two-thirds in the last decade", Throup added.

The MP responded: "I have great respect for you and the work of the EA, and after all your time there and working on the Wye I understand why you would want to support them.

"But this claim is nonsense. I am doing no such thing."

He continued: "What I have always called for is for the EA and other agencies to put together a task force with named accountable leadership which is able to develop a single integrated clean-up strategy for the whole river.

"The agencies are called agencies for a reason. Let’s see some agency from them, rather than the present cross-border fudge."

NRW’s mid-Wales operations manager Ann Weedy also defended her agency, saying: "We work closely with our colleagues at Natural England and the Environment Agency as well as other stakeholders from across all sectors on improving conditions in the River Wye.

"Collectively we are working on the actions agreed in the Wye Nutrient Management Plan, to ensure that phosphate levels can be reduced, and good river health achieved and maintained.

"Improving the health of our rivers is the long-term aim.

"NRW is doing everything we can within our resources and legal powers."

A spokesperson for the Environment Agency said in response to Mr Norman’s comments: "We’ve recently secured a share of national Government funding which means there will be a four-fold increase in the regulatory activity on the Wye.

"Our teams will increase farm visits, focusing on high-risk locations and previously non-compliant businesses.

"We will also be able to carry out a detailed investigation into the management of poultry manure across the catchment and enhance monitoring at high-risk locations."