The Environment Agency (EA) has launched an eight-week consultation on the possibility of unrestricted fines for the most severe polluters.

Currently, a £250,000 limit is placed on fines that the EA can impose on offenders.

However, this might change as the agency contemplates eliminating this cap and expanding the range of penalties.

Should the changes be implemented, a broader spectrum of environmental offences will come under the purview of these unrestricted fines.

This expansion is anticipated to create a more compelling deterrent against environmental misconduct across a variety of sectors, spanning from energy and water companies to waste operators and incinerators.

Minister for Environmental Quality and Resilience Rebecca Pow said: “Polluters must always pay – by lifting the cap on these sanctions, we are simultaneously toughening our enforcement tools and expanding where regulators can use them.”