Two of North Hampshire's MPs voted against a plan to stop companies from dumping raw sewage into rivers and the sea.

Basingstoke MP Maria Miller and North West Hampshire representative Kit Malthouse both voted against an amendment which would have placed a legal duty on water companies not to pump waste into rivers.

The backlash from the public has forced many Conservative MPs, including Winchester's Steve Brine, to post almost identical statements defending their position.

Lords Amendment 45 to the Environment Bill would have placed a legal duty on water companies in England and Wales “to make improvements to their sewerage systems and demonstrate progressive reductions in the harm caused by discharges of untreated sewage".

It was proposed in the House of Lords by the Duke of Wellington, Charles Wellesley.

But Conservative MP Caroline Nokes, whose Romsey and Southampton North constituency covers villages in the Test Valley including Barton Stacey and Longparish, voted in favour of the amendment, and previously supported a campaign from Surfers Against Sewage to stop sewage pollution.

Raw sewage was discharged into waters more than 400,000 times in 2020 for a total of more than 3.1 million hours, according to data from the Environmental Agency.

Additionally, the Rivers Trust say all of England's rivers are failing to pass cleanliness tests, with 53 per cent failing at least partly because of water companies releasing sewage into them.

Water companies are allowed to release untreated sewage into rivers and the sea after heavy rainfall and flooding, when there is a surge through the system.

Meanwhile, figures collected by charity the Rivers Trust show that all of England’s rivers are currently failing to pass cleanliness tests, with 53 per cent of them failing at least partly because of water companies releasing sewage into them.

Maria Miller and Kit Malthouse have been contacted for comment.

North East Hampshire MP Ranil Jayawardena did not vote.