"POOP tomatoes" are sprouting on British beaches and the water bosses responsible should be put in the dock, Steve Reed blasted today.
The Shadow Environment Secretary said he's disgusted that seeds passed through human poo are growing into grotty tomato plants after filthy sewage gets pumped into waterways.
On Sun show Never Mind The Ballots, the Labour MP for Croydon North vowed to make water bosses criminally liable for illegal sewage dumps and the unwanted fruits that come with them.
You can watch The Sun's Political Editor Harry Cole grill MP Steve Reed on Never Mind the Ballots on and .
Mr Reed said: "We can't go on getting the water more and more polluted every year.
"It's damaging tourism, it's making kids sick.
"And we now have on many of our beaches tomatoes growing because someone has eaten a tomato and its seed has made its way back onto the beach."
JUST Stop Oil yobs are aggravating and alienating the public, Steve Reed admitted today.
The Shadow Environment Secretary blasted extremist campaigners for putting the public off a good cause.
And he agreed that cops should crackdown on protestors who blockade working people from getting on with their lives.
Mr Reed said: "I think the way that they aggravate and upset the public puts people off their cause.
"I do believe in a democracy and legitimate protest is acceptable.
"I don't think it's legitimate to stop people going about their business, to stop ambulances getting to patients and to stop food getting to supermarkets."
The Shadow Environment Secretary added: "I think the police should have taken action earlier to stop what they're doing and I think the action they're taking is counterproductive."
Figures show storm overflows spilled sewage into rivers and seas across England for more than 3.6 million hours in 2023, more than double the previous year.
Water companies are banned from dumping dirty water unless it is in the most exceptional of circumstances.
Data published by the Environment Agency (EA) reveal there were 464,056 spills in 2023, up 54 per cent from 301,091 in 2022.
The duration of the sewage spills had more than doubled from 1,754,921 hours hours in 2022, to 3,606,170 hours in 2023, the figures show.
Both the frequency and duration of spills were also up on 2020 levels, which saw comparable amounts of rainfall.
And the figures are at their highest ever levels, although officials caution that comparisons over the years are difficult as an increasing number of storm overflows have been fitted with monitors over time, and all now have the technology to record spills.
Mr Reed said "people are furious" with water companies destroying lakes, rivers and the sea while bosses have banked £25 million in bonuses since the last general election.
He told The Sun: "We've got a government that's gone too soft on the water companies that are doing this.
"What I would do differently is crack down on them so they can't get away with this behaviour anymore.
"There should be accountability. And yes, that means they will be in the dock and held to account in court if they allow illegal activity."
