Gove: ‘We’ve got to move away from a culture of things being thrown away’

Michael Gove has demanded a crackdown on fat cat water company bosses using offshore tax havens while cashing in on their monopoly position — warning that legislation could follow unless they start to behave “in a responsible fashion”.

In an interview with The Sunday Times, the environment secretary said privatised utility companies must meet “high ethical standards” in order to maintain public support.

At his home in west London, he has made changes to his own life to reflect the green crusade he has unleashed in government. Last week he and Theresa May announced plans to do away with unnecessary plastic packaging and extended the 5p charge on plastic bags to all shops.

“There are some hessian bags downstairs and some cloth ones,” he says