In February 2014, in the context of flooding on the Somerset Levels, Liddell-Grainger called the chairman of the Environment Agency, Baron Smith of Finsbury a "little git", and a "coward" and said he would like to "stick his head down the loo and flush". The floods took place after exceptionally bad weather. Liddell-Grainger placed the blame for the floods on the Environment Agency's policy of not dredging the local rivers, and said that he would be consulting with Dutch hydrological experts. The Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management said increased dredging would not have prevented the flooding in the Somerset Levels – due to the sheer amount of water.