Members of Extinction Rebellion (XR) installed 30 satirical blue plaques across Winchester as part of a nationwide protest.

The group is protesting against MPs who voted against proposed amendments to the Environment Bill in 2021 that would have tightened regulations on water companies contributing to pollution in waterways.

The plaques read: “Steve Brine, Winchester MP, voted to block a law requiring water companies to dump less raw sewage in our waterways and seas on 20th October 2021.”

Extinction Rebellion cited recent incidents such as sewage dumped into the River Itchen last year and a parliamentary committee report describing a “’chemical cocktail’ of sewage, slurry and plastic polluting English rivers” as evidence that more government action was needed to protect waterways.

A spokesperson for XR Winchester said: “We’ve watched in horror as our rivers and seas have become open sewers since October 2021, when our own MP Steve Brine, voted down a proposal to stop water companies pumping waste directly into our rivers.  The Conservative government justified this by claiming that the proposal was too expensive. These plaques shine a light on the government’s failure to protect our waterways, the natural world, and all of us.”