KAPITAL STRIKE

DP World cancels £1billion London Gateway port announcement in row with Labour

Jitendra Joshi
Fri 11 October 2024 


Sir Keir Starmer’s Government faced fresh embarrassment after it emerged that Dubai-based DP World plans to boycott an investment summit next week at which it was due to announce a £1billion expansion of the London Gateway container port.

Monday’s summit is meant to mark a fresh start for the PM after a rocky first 100 days since Labour won the election in July, showcasing ministers rubbing shoulders with global business leaders to drum up investment in the UK.

But it risks being overshadowed by a row over strong criticism aired this week by Labour ministers Angela Rayner and Louise Haigh against DP World’s subsidiary P&O Ferries.

They have long expressed anger about the company’s firing of 800 British seafarers in 2022. But it is understood that given the timing of their latest comments, just before the summit, DP World chairman Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem will not now attend Monday’s event in the City of London.

And the company has shelved the announcement of hefty new investment to build two more docking berths at London Gateway in Thurrock, Essex, which would eventually give the port bigger capacity than Felixstowe or Southampton.

DP World declined to comment after the boycott was first revealed by Sky News. There was no immediate response from the Department for Business.

It comes after Deputy Prime Minister Rayner and Transport Secretary Haigh announced new legislation to protect seafarers on Wednesday as the Government presented a bill to enhance workers’ rights more generally.

Ms Haigh described P&O as a "rogue operator" and said consumers should boycott the ferry company. Ms Rayner described the 2022 sackings as "an outrageous example of manipulation by an employer".

Asked about DP World, Sir Keir evaded the question and insisted that Monday’s “massive” summit represented a turning point for the economy.

“This is very, very good for the country, very, very good for the future of jobs,” he told reporters.

“It is just the sort of change that we need to see.”

Responding to the news, Shadow Business and Trade Secretary Kevin Hollinrake said: “On the eve of this much vaunted inward investment event, this is a body blow for the Government and shows that Labour Cabinet Ministers have never been in business, don’t understand business and don’t know how to talk to business. They just haven’t got a clue.

“Just 100 days in, new investment should be rolling in, not being scared off because of anti-business statements or worries about the impact of Labour's employment and tax policies.”

Ports company pulls £1bn investment over ministers’ criticism – reports

Christopher McKeon, PA Political Correspondent
Fri 11 October 2024 at 9:37 am GMT-6·3-min read

The Prime Minister has declined to comment on reports a £1 billion investment in the UK has been jeopardised by ministers’ criticism of the company behind it.

Dubai-based DP World is reported to have been planning to announce a major investment in the UK at the Government’s International Investment Summit next Monday.

But, according to Sky News, that investment is now under review after Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner and Transport Secretary Louise Haigh repeated criticism of P&O Ferries, which is owned by DP World.

P&O Ferries was criticised by politicians from both main parties in March 2022 when it suddenly sacked 800 British seafarers and replaced them with cheaper, mainly overseas, staff, saying it was necessary to stave off bankruptcy.

On Wednesday, Ms Rayner and Ms Haigh introduced legislation to prevent similar actions, with the Transport Secretary describing P&O Ferries as “cowboy operators” and Ms Rayner saying the incident had been “an outrageous example of manipulation by an employer”.

P&O Ferries was sharply criticised by MPs from all parties after suddenly sacking 800 seafarers in March 2022. (Gareth Fuller/PA)

On Friday, Sky News reported DP World chairman, Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, ordered Monday’s announcement to be cancelled and the planned investment in the company’s London Gateway port to be reviewed.

Asked about the row on Friday, the Prime Minister declined to answer directly, saying there had been “five or six huge investments in the UK” announced in the past four weeks.

He said: “We’ve got a massive investment summit coming up on Monday where leading investors from across the globe are all coming to the UK.

“This is very, very good for the country, very, very good for the future of jobs, it’s just the sort of change that we need to see.”

Monday’s investment summit was a major part of the Government’s plan for its first 100 days in office and its mission of securing economic growth.

Liverpool City Region mayor Steve Rotheram said he had “very little sympathy” with DP World “moaning about a Government because of the actions that they’ve previously taken against workers in this country”.

“We as a Government would have wanted to work with these, but they would have had to have done things differently because you can’t have fire and rehire, you can’t just sack workers, there are protections in this country for everybody,” he said.

Conservative shadow business secretary Kevin Hollinrake said DP World’s decision was “a body blow for the Government” that shows ministers “don’t understand business and don’t know how to talk to business”.

He said: “Just 100 days in, new investment should be rolling in, not being scared off because of anti-business statements or worries about the impact of Labour’s employment and tax policies.”

At the time of the P&O Ferries incident, senior Conservatives themselves criticised the company, with then-prime minister Boris Johnson telling MPs it appeared to have broken the law.

Then-transport secretary Grant Shapps also called for P&O Ferries chief executive Peter Hebblethwaite to resign or be dismissed following the incident.

DP World and the Department for Business and Trade have been contacted for comment.