Defra

However, it is Defra and the regulators who are jointly responsible for setting the framework the water companies operate under.

Defra told the BBC that the UK government is considering reforms on waste exemptions.

While this is the first time this virus has been reported in a sheep, bird flu has previously been detected in livestock in other countries, according to Defra.

Defra has placed England in an "avian influenza protection zone" to prevent bird flu and stop it spreading.

But Defra suggested it be extended because a company in Wellingborough, which had been making the pork pies for decades, objected as it would have been outside the area, Mr O'Callaghan said.