UK Government had to ‘have a conversation’ with DP World to salvage investment
NATION CYMRU
The Government had to “have a conversation” with DP World to secure its investment after a row over the Transport Secretary’s call to boycott P&O Ferries was picked up by the press.
Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said the investment, which was reportedly put in jeopardy by scathing criticism of the ferry operator, was going ahead.
Dubai-based DP World, which owns P&O, also said it is attending an investment summit after getting “the clarity we need” from the Government.
Investment
Mr Reynolds was asked on Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips how close the Government came to losing DP World’s planned £1 billion investment.
“We’ve had to have a conversation following some of the press reports,” he said.
But he also said DP World’s investment is going ahead, and the company is still attending the International Investment Summit on Monday.
A DP World spokesperson confirmed, saying: “Following constructive and positive discussions with the Government, we have been given the clarity we need. We look forward to participating in Monday’s International Investment Summit.”
Criticism
P&O 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, Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner and Transport Secretary Louise Haigh introduced legislation aiming to prevent similar actions.
Ms Rayner said the incident had been “an outrageous example of manipulation by an employer” in a Government press release.
Interestingly, the release specifically highlighted P&O among “rogue employers” and said it would “close a loophole exploited by P&O Ferries”.
In an ITV interview, Ms Haigh went further, saying: “I’ve been boycotting P&O Ferries for two-and-a-half years, and I encourage consumers to do the same.”
Rogue Operator
Mr Reynolds said it was “not the Government’s position” that P&O is a rogue operator when asked on Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg.
He was asked about calls Labour made in opposition for licences with P&O to be suspended over its fire-and-rehire practices and whether it is the case that now the party is in Government, it needs the cash so is willing to do a deal with the firm.
He said: “It’s now the case that, as we’re in Government, we can stop what happened with P&O Ferries happening again.”
The Business Secretary said: “Where companies accept that we’re not allowing that to happen anymore, and we can work with them on investments into the country, we can have a conversation with them, we will do. So it’s not the Government’s position to boycott them, but we are clear we do not want this country competing on fire and rehire.”
Asked on Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips if Ms Haigh had undermined the Government and whether she had apologised, he said: “I don’t see it that way.”
When it was put to him that the situation was a lesson that the party must behave differently in government than in opposition, he said: “I don’t think anyone in the new Government needs that lesson.”
Sky News
Sat 12 October 2024
A £1bn investment in Britain by port operator DP World will go ahead as planned, after a frantic effort by ministers and diplomats to repair relations following a row with the Dubai-owned multinational that threatened to overshadow a crucial investment summit.
On Friday, Sky News revealed that the planned investment was under review and that DP World's chairman, Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, had cancelled plans to attend the summit, following criticism by ministers of P&O Ferries, a subsidiary company.
On Wednesday, Transport Secretary Louise Haigh described P&O Ferries, which summarily sacked 800 seafarers in March 2022, as a "rogue operator" and called for a consumer boycott.
Her comments caused considerable offence to DP World's leadership as it prepared to sign-off of the £1bn investment in London Gateway container port, timed to coincide with the summit.
In an attempt to salvage the situation Sir Keir Starmer slapped down Ms Haigh, saying the government did not share her views, and officials from Downing Street and the Foreign Office are understood to have been involved in efforts to repair relations.
DP World has told Sky News that Mr bin Sulayem will attend the event in London and it is understood the investment will be confirmed as planned, before a row with ministers threw the flagship announcement into doubt.
A DP World spokesperson told Sky News: "Following constructive and positive discussions with the government, we have been given the clarity we need. We look forward to participating in Monday's International Investment Summit."
Mr bin Sulayem is expected to meet the UK's prime minister, perhaps as soon as Sunday, when delegates will gather for a reception in central London.
The investment in London Gateway will see the addition of two new berths taking the total to six, and a second rail terminal. Capacity, currently at almost two million containers a year, will double and the port is expected to become Britain's largest by volume within five years.
The investment is expected to create 400 full-time jobs in addition to the 1,200 people already employed at London Gateway, and will take the total spent at the facility on the Thames Estuary in Essex, near the village of Corringham, to more than £3bn.
A logistics park employing 1,500 people has also been developed adjacent to the port, formerly the site of a Shell oil refinery.
DP World owns ports and logistics operations in more than 60 countries and generated global revenues of almost £14bn last year.
A government spokeswoman said: "DP World's investment in Britain is a vote of confidence in the stability and seriousness of the government. We welcome the jobs and opportunities it will create.
"By working in partnership with businesses and investors from all over the world, this government is unlocking the UK's potential and ambition. As our international investment summit will show, Britain is once again open for business."
P&O will attend investment summit after Starmer’s rebuke to minister over ‘cowboy’ comment
Amy-Clare Martin
Sat 12 October 2024
Scroll back up to restore default view.
The owner of P&O ferries will attend a key investment summit after Sir Keir Starmer distanced himself from comments by a minister who called the firm a “cowboy operator”.
After efforts by Downing Street to smooth relations, it is understood that DP World will now attend Monday’s gathering, despite the row over Louise Haigh’s comments about the firm.
The ferry operator’s Dubai-based parent company was expected to announce £1bn of investment in the UK at the government’s International Investment Summit, which is thought to be key to government plans to attract investment to the country.
But DP World was reported to have pulled out of the event and placed its investment plans under review, according to Sky News, after deputy prime minister Angela Rayner and transport secretary Ms Haigh’s repeated criticism of P&O Ferries.
The operator faced scrutiny 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.
P&O Ferries was sharply criticised by MPs from all parties after suddenly sacking 800 seafarers in March 2022 (PA Archive)
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”.
In an ITV interview Ms Haigh went further, saying: “I’ve been boycotting P&O Ferries for two-and-a-half years, and I encourage consumers to do the same”.
However Sir Keir distanced himself from the remarks during an interview on the BBC News Newscast podcast. Asked whether Ms Haigh was right to call for a boycott of the firm, which she called a “rogue operator”, Sir Keir said: “Well, that’s not the view of the government.”
He added: “And that was an issue that well, you know, the issue that cropped up a number of years ago now that I think across parliament was a cause for real concern. And I think one of things we’ve done is to change that. So they can’t forget that that matters.
“But what matters to me is keeping our focus on that inward investment because it’s... the jobs of the future that matter and jobs that are well-paid, that are secure, that are skilled and in different parts of the country.”
In his interview, Sir Keir claimed he had achieved all he had hoped in his first 100 days as prime minister but admitted that “along the way, there were bumps and side winds, which I’d prefer we hadn’t bumped into and been pushed by”
.
Sir Keir Starmer on BBC’s ‘Newscast’ (PA Media)
The department of business and trade confirmed on Saturday that DP World will attend the summit.
Meanwhile Labour MP Liam Byrne, chairman of the House of Commons’ business and trade committee, sought to play down the row, saying Ms Haigh was “absolutely right” to criticise P&O’s past behaviour, but that new legislation would regulate how the firm can treat its staff.
Mr Byrne told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that the ferry firm’s past treatment of its workers is “the kind of behaviour that we can’t have in this country”.
But he added that the government’s Employment Rights bill would provide a “very clear framework” on how companies can treat workers, which would “bite on” firms like P&O.
“I think there’s a bit of a split here between the past and the future. So look, Lou Haigh was absolutely right to say that the behaviour of P&O, owned by DP World, in the past has been completely unacceptable.”
Monday’s high-profile investment summit will be used by the government as a chance to champion firms who have already committed billions of pounds to the UK and attempt to woo others who are considering new deals.
“The message, I think, that is going to go from the summit is really clear that if you want to come and do business here, you can’t behave in the way that P&O has in the past,” Mr Byrne said.
“And I think the prime minister was expressing that confidence in the way in which DP World is going to run their shop.”
Sir Keir Starmer on BBC’s ‘Newscast’ (PA Media)
The department of business and trade confirmed on Saturday that DP World will attend the summit.
Meanwhile Labour MP Liam Byrne, chairman of the House of Commons’ business and trade committee, sought to play down the row, saying Ms Haigh was “absolutely right” to criticise P&O’s past behaviour, but that new legislation would regulate how the firm can treat its staff.
Mr Byrne told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that the ferry firm’s past treatment of its workers is “the kind of behaviour that we can’t have in this country”.
But he added that the government’s Employment Rights bill would provide a “very clear framework” on how companies can treat workers, which would “bite on” firms like P&O.
“I think there’s a bit of a split here between the past and the future. So look, Lou Haigh was absolutely right to say that the behaviour of P&O, owned by DP World, in the past has been completely unacceptable.”
Monday’s high-profile investment summit will be used by the government as a chance to champion firms who have already committed billions of pounds to the UK and attempt to woo others who are considering new deals.
“The message, I think, that is going to go from the summit is really clear that if you want to come and do business here, you can’t behave in the way that P&O has in the past,” Mr Byrne said.
“And I think the prime minister was expressing that confidence in the way in which DP World is going to run their shop.”
Labour seeks to balance P&O criticism after Starmer slaps down call for boycott
City AM reporter
Sat 12 October 2024
Starmer said Louise Haigh’s call for a boycott of P&O was “not the view of the Government”.
A Labour MP has sought to balance criticism of P&O Ferries after reports the Transport Secretary’s call for a boycott of the company could have jeopardised a £1bn investment in the UK.
Keir Starmer has said Louise Haigh’s call for a boycott of the ferry firm was “not the view of the Government”.
Liam Byrne said Louise Haigh was “absolutely right” to say that the behaviour of P&O, owned by DP World, has been “completely unacceptable.”
Byrne, the MP for Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North, said the ferry firm’s past treatment of its workers is “the kind of behaviour that we can’t have in this country”.
But he added that the Government’s Employment Rights Bill would provide a “very clear framework” on how companies can treat workers, which would “bite on” firms like P&O.
Dubai-based DP World, P&O’s parent firm, 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 under review after Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner and Transport Secretary Haigh repeated criticism of P&O Ferries.
The operator 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, Rayner and Haigh introduced legislation to prevent similar actions, with the Transport Secretary describing P&O Ferries as “cowboy operators” and Rayner saying the incident had been “an outrageous example of manipulation by an employer”.
In an ITV interview, Haigh went further, saying: “I’ve been boycotting P&O Ferries for two-and-a-half years, and I encourage consumers to do the same”.
Asked whether Haigh was right to call for a boycott of the firm, which she called a “rogue operator”, Starmer said: “Well, that’s not the view of the Government.”
Asked about the DP World situation, Starmer told the BBC’s Newscast: “Well, look, I think we’ll resolve that.
“But… I think if you look at the last three or four weeks, you’ve seen £40-plus billion worth of investment.”
Byrne, chairman of the House of Commons’ Business and Trade Committee, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “I think there’s a bit of a split here between the past and the future. So look, Lou Haigh was absolutely right to say that the behaviour of P&O, owned by DP World, in the past has been completely unacceptable.”
P&O chief executive Peter Hebblethwaite told the committee he could not live on what he paid his workers and that his pay package was around £750,000, Byrne said.
“That is the kind of behaviour that we can’t have in this country,” he said.
Byrne added: “Once the Employment Rights Act goes through Parliament, there’ll be a very clear framework for the way in which we expect companies to behave and that is going to bite on companies like P&O.”
Monday’s high-profile investment summit will be used by the Government as a chance to champion firms who have already committed billions of pounds to the UK and attempt to woo others who are considering new deals.
“The message, I think, that is going to go from the summit is really clear that if you want to come and do business here, you can’t behave in the way that P&O has in the past.
“And I think the Prime Minister was expressing that confidence in the way in which DP World is going to run their shop,” Byrne said.
Helen Corbett, PA Political Correspondent
Starmer steps into cabinet row over P&O to rescue global summit in London
Toby Helm and Jon Ungoed-Thomas
THE GUARDIAN
Sat 12 October 2024
Keir Starmer in Edinburgh on Friday.Photograph: WPA/Getty Images
Keir Starmer expressed his full confidence on Saturday in the transport secretary, Louise Haigh, after an explosive cabinet row cast fresh doubt over his Downing Street operation and threatened to overshadow a key international investment summit in London.
Government sources said the prime minister and Haigh had spoken and made up on Saturday after Starmer appeared to rebuke her on Friday for branding P&O Ferries a “rogue operator” in a statement and then calling for customers to boycott the company in a subsequent media interview.
Related: P&O owner to attend UK investment summit despite minister’s criticism
The comments – and a description by the deputy prime minister, Angela Rayner, of P&O’s behaviour as “outrageous” when it sacked nearly 800 workers without notice in 2022 – led to reports that P&O’s parent company, DP World, had pulled out of Monday’s investment summit and shelved a £1bn infrastructure project at the London Gateway.
The workers sacked in March 2022 were told of their fate by the company in pre-recorded Zoom video. They were told: “I am sorry to inform you that your employment is terminated with immediate effect … your final day of employment is today.”
P&O Ferries boss Peter Hebblethwaite subsequently appeared before the Commons business select committee over the sacking scandal later that month. Darren Jones, then committee chair and now chief secretary to the Treasury, opened the session by asking: “Are you just a shameless criminal?”
Hebblethwaite told MPs the ferry business was not viable without the changes, adding: “I would make this decision again, I’m afraid.”
With DP World’s attendance at the investment summit in doubt, Starmer was asked on Friday if Haigh had been wrong to describe the company as a “cowboy operator” and to encourage a boycott. The prime minister appeared to cut her adrift, saying: “Well, look, that’s not the view of the government.”
Official sources said early on Saturday they were astonished that Haigh had been “hung out to dry” and “thrown under the bus” because she had only been echoing a government press release about new protections for seafarers, which had mentioned “rogue employers” and specifically said the measures were aimed at “preventing another P&O scandal”.
The release had been signed off by the No 10 communications team. “No 10 comms gave it the tick,” said a well-placed source.
Both Haigh and Rayner were said by insiders to be “hopping mad” that No 10 had not protected them, given that it had sanctioned the same kind of highly critical language towards P&O.
Downing Street sources later said that while the row had been smoothed over, it had been Haigh’s comments about a boycott that had gone too far and caused most annoyance to P&O’s owners.
On Saturday night, it appeared that DP World would, after all, attend the conference and that the investment of £1bn was no longer under threat. Senior sources confirmed that Haigh and Starmer had spoken on the phone and that he had expressed his confidence in her.
The Observer also understands that senior ministers, including Haigh, had not been informed in advance that DP World would be attending the investment summit, nor that they had been proposing a £1bn investment that would be announced at it.
They said the fact that they were not informed was “astonishing”, given that the government last week unveiled its key bill to improve workers’ rights and that this was highly relevant in that context.
“It shows the tension between the workers’ rights stuff and the investment stuff. This is going to keep happening unless we sort out the comms and the grid,” said an insider.
The row comes just days after Starmer’s chief of staff, the former senior civil servant Sue Gray, quit after weeks of bitter internal arguments and tensions inside No 10. She was replaced by another of the prime minister’s closest aides, Morgan McSweeney.
The investment summit has been talked up as a showpiece of the new government, aimed at attracting foreign money to the UK. Both Starmer and the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, will attend, as well as many of the world’s leading business figures.
The Labour MP Liam Byrne, chair of Westminster’s business and trade committee, said on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Saturday: “I think there’s a bit of a split here between the past and the future. Lou Haigh was absolutely right to say the behaviour of P&O, owned by DP World, in the past has been completely unacceptable.
“The calls for the boycott, let’s not forget, were originally made by Grant Shapps [the former Tory transport secretary] … but now we have got the employment rights bill coming through, I think we are all expecting businesses to play by the rules.”
The Dubai-based company owns the port of Southampton as well as London Gateway and was involved in the creation of some of the first of Rishi Sunak’s controversial freeports.
The latest Downing Street row comes as the government rolls out a series of announcements designed to underline its pro-business credentials before the summit.
It includes the appointment of a new industrial strategy advisory council, which will be chaired by the chief executive of Microsoft UK, Clare Barclay, as ministers unveil the first industrial strategy in seven years.
Jonathan Reynolds, the business secretary, said the new strategy would “hardwire stability for investors and give them the confidence to plan not just for the next year but for the next 10 years and beyond”.
He said: “This is the next step in our pro-worker, pro-business plan, which will see investors and workers alike get the security and stability they need to succeed.”
Reeves said:“I have never been more optimistic about our country’s potential. We have some of the brightest minds and greatest businesses in the world, from the creative industries and life sciences to advanced manufacturing and financial services.
“This government is determined to deliver on Britain’s potential so we can rebuild Britain and make every part of the country better off.”
A chorus of disapproval: P&O explainer
“Are you a shameless criminal?”: how DP World’s subsidiary P&O Ferries was attacked by everyone from Boris Johnson to Keir Starmer
17 March 2022
P&O Ferries tells nearly 800 staff in a pre-recorded Zoom video: “I am sorry to inform you that your employment is terminated with immediate effect.” They included those on the Dover to Calais and Liverpool to Dublin routes.
23 March 2022
Prime minister Boris Johnson condemns the “callous behaviour” of P&O Ferries. He said it appeared the company had broken the law and could “face fines running into millions of pounds”. Employment lawyers tell the BBC it was unlikely employment law had been broken.
24 March 2022
Peter Hebblethwaite, boss of P&O Ferries, is quizzed by the Commons’ business select committee. Darren Jones, now chief secretary to the Treasury, asks: “Are you just a shameless criminal?” Hebblethwaite tells MPs: “I’d make this decision again.” Cheaper staff would make the business viable, he said, at £5.50 an hour, plus pension contribution, food and accommodation.
30 March 2022
Transport secretary Grant Shapps tells MPs the “shameful” sackings exploited a loophole, flagging vessels in Cyprus to avoid UK laws.
30 May 2022
Ministers are said to have cancelled a Home Office contract with P&O Ferries to provide transport for UK Border Force staff.
27 March 2023
The Trades Union Congress attacks an “appalling decision” to allow DP World to co-run the Thames Freeport in Essex, as part of the Tory government’s freeports plan. It is reported the project will see more than £4.6bn in investment, with the creation of 21,000 jobs.
9 October 2024
Transport secretary Louise Haigh promotes a new employment rights bill on TV, urging viewers to join her in boycotting P&O Ferries. Deputy PM Angela Rayner is quoted in a press release the next day saying the sackings were “an outrageous example of manipulation by an employer”.
11 October 2024
DP World pulls out of a £1bn investment at London Gateway, part of the Thames Freeport, due to be announced at the government’s investment summit tomorrow, according to reports.
12 October 2024
It is reported that DP World would attend the investment summit. The prime minister Keir Starmer says calls for a P&O Ferries boycott did not have government support.
Sat 12 October 2024
Keir Starmer in Edinburgh on Friday.Photograph: WPA/Getty Images
Keir Starmer expressed his full confidence on Saturday in the transport secretary, Louise Haigh, after an explosive cabinet row cast fresh doubt over his Downing Street operation and threatened to overshadow a key international investment summit in London.
Government sources said the prime minister and Haigh had spoken and made up on Saturday after Starmer appeared to rebuke her on Friday for branding P&O Ferries a “rogue operator” in a statement and then calling for customers to boycott the company in a subsequent media interview.
Related: P&O owner to attend UK investment summit despite minister’s criticism
The comments – and a description by the deputy prime minister, Angela Rayner, of P&O’s behaviour as “outrageous” when it sacked nearly 800 workers without notice in 2022 – led to reports that P&O’s parent company, DP World, had pulled out of Monday’s investment summit and shelved a £1bn infrastructure project at the London Gateway.
The workers sacked in March 2022 were told of their fate by the company in pre-recorded Zoom video. They were told: “I am sorry to inform you that your employment is terminated with immediate effect … your final day of employment is today.”
P&O Ferries boss Peter Hebblethwaite subsequently appeared before the Commons business select committee over the sacking scandal later that month. Darren Jones, then committee chair and now chief secretary to the Treasury, opened the session by asking: “Are you just a shameless criminal?”
Hebblethwaite told MPs the ferry business was not viable without the changes, adding: “I would make this decision again, I’m afraid.”
With DP World’s attendance at the investment summit in doubt, Starmer was asked on Friday if Haigh had been wrong to describe the company as a “cowboy operator” and to encourage a boycott. The prime minister appeared to cut her adrift, saying: “Well, look, that’s not the view of the government.”
Official sources said early on Saturday they were astonished that Haigh had been “hung out to dry” and “thrown under the bus” because she had only been echoing a government press release about new protections for seafarers, which had mentioned “rogue employers” and specifically said the measures were aimed at “preventing another P&O scandal”.
The release had been signed off by the No 10 communications team. “No 10 comms gave it the tick,” said a well-placed source.
Both Haigh and Rayner were said by insiders to be “hopping mad” that No 10 had not protected them, given that it had sanctioned the same kind of highly critical language towards P&O.
Downing Street sources later said that while the row had been smoothed over, it had been Haigh’s comments about a boycott that had gone too far and caused most annoyance to P&O’s owners.
On Saturday night, it appeared that DP World would, after all, attend the conference and that the investment of £1bn was no longer under threat. Senior sources confirmed that Haigh and Starmer had spoken on the phone and that he had expressed his confidence in her.
The Observer also understands that senior ministers, including Haigh, had not been informed in advance that DP World would be attending the investment summit, nor that they had been proposing a £1bn investment that would be announced at it.
They said the fact that they were not informed was “astonishing”, given that the government last week unveiled its key bill to improve workers’ rights and that this was highly relevant in that context.
“It shows the tension between the workers’ rights stuff and the investment stuff. This is going to keep happening unless we sort out the comms and the grid,” said an insider.
The row comes just days after Starmer’s chief of staff, the former senior civil servant Sue Gray, quit after weeks of bitter internal arguments and tensions inside No 10. She was replaced by another of the prime minister’s closest aides, Morgan McSweeney.
The investment summit has been talked up as a showpiece of the new government, aimed at attracting foreign money to the UK. Both Starmer and the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, will attend, as well as many of the world’s leading business figures.
The Labour MP Liam Byrne, chair of Westminster’s business and trade committee, said on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Saturday: “I think there’s a bit of a split here between the past and the future. Lou Haigh was absolutely right to say the behaviour of P&O, owned by DP World, in the past has been completely unacceptable.
“The calls for the boycott, let’s not forget, were originally made by Grant Shapps [the former Tory transport secretary] … but now we have got the employment rights bill coming through, I think we are all expecting businesses to play by the rules.”
The Dubai-based company owns the port of Southampton as well as London Gateway and was involved in the creation of some of the first of Rishi Sunak’s controversial freeports.
The latest Downing Street row comes as the government rolls out a series of announcements designed to underline its pro-business credentials before the summit.
It includes the appointment of a new industrial strategy advisory council, which will be chaired by the chief executive of Microsoft UK, Clare Barclay, as ministers unveil the first industrial strategy in seven years.
Jonathan Reynolds, the business secretary, said the new strategy would “hardwire stability for investors and give them the confidence to plan not just for the next year but for the next 10 years and beyond”.
He said: “This is the next step in our pro-worker, pro-business plan, which will see investors and workers alike get the security and stability they need to succeed.”
Reeves said:“I have never been more optimistic about our country’s potential. We have some of the brightest minds and greatest businesses in the world, from the creative industries and life sciences to advanced manufacturing and financial services.
“This government is determined to deliver on Britain’s potential so we can rebuild Britain and make every part of the country better off.”
A chorus of disapproval: P&O explainer
“Are you a shameless criminal?”: how DP World’s subsidiary P&O Ferries was attacked by everyone from Boris Johnson to Keir Starmer
17 March 2022
P&O Ferries tells nearly 800 staff in a pre-recorded Zoom video: “I am sorry to inform you that your employment is terminated with immediate effect.” They included those on the Dover to Calais and Liverpool to Dublin routes.
23 March 2022
Prime minister Boris Johnson condemns the “callous behaviour” of P&O Ferries. He said it appeared the company had broken the law and could “face fines running into millions of pounds”. Employment lawyers tell the BBC it was unlikely employment law had been broken.
24 March 2022
Peter Hebblethwaite, boss of P&O Ferries, is quizzed by the Commons’ business select committee. Darren Jones, now chief secretary to the Treasury, asks: “Are you just a shameless criminal?” Hebblethwaite tells MPs: “I’d make this decision again.” Cheaper staff would make the business viable, he said, at £5.50 an hour, plus pension contribution, food and accommodation.
30 March 2022
Transport secretary Grant Shapps tells MPs the “shameful” sackings exploited a loophole, flagging vessels in Cyprus to avoid UK laws.
30 May 2022
Ministers are said to have cancelled a Home Office contract with P&O Ferries to provide transport for UK Border Force staff.
27 March 2023
The Trades Union Congress attacks an “appalling decision” to allow DP World to co-run the Thames Freeport in Essex, as part of the Tory government’s freeports plan. It is reported the project will see more than £4.6bn in investment, with the creation of 21,000 jobs.
9 October 2024
Transport secretary Louise Haigh promotes a new employment rights bill on TV, urging viewers to join her in boycotting P&O Ferries. Deputy PM Angela Rayner is quoted in a press release the next day saying the sackings were “an outrageous example of manipulation by an employer”.
11 October 2024
DP World pulls out of a £1bn investment at London Gateway, part of the Thames Freeport, due to be announced at the government’s investment summit tomorrow, according to reports.
12 October 2024
It is reported that DP World would attend the investment summit. The prime minister Keir Starmer says calls for a P&O Ferries boycott did not have government support.
Blow to No 10's investment summit as port giant pulls £1bn announcement over P&O row
Sky News
Fri 11 October 2024
The government's Investment Summit has suffered a major blow after ports and logistics giant DP World pulled a scheduled announcement of a £1bn investment in its London Gateway container port, following criticism by members of Sir Keir Starmer's cabinet.
Sky News understands the Dubai-based company's investment was due to be a centrepiece of Monday's event, which is intended to showcase Britain's appeal to investors and will be attended by the prime minister and Chancellor Rachel Reeves.
DP World's investment in the port is now under review however, following criticism by Transport Secretary Louise Haigh and Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner of its subsidiary P&O Ferries.
In March 2022, P&O caused huge controversy by sacking 800 British seafarers and replacing them with cheaper, largely foreign workers, a move it said was required to prevent the company from collapsing.
Announcing new legislation to protect seafarers on Wednesday, Ms Haigh described P&O as a "rogue operator" and said consumers should boycott the company.
In a press release issued with Ms Rayner, Ms Haigh said P&O's actions were "a national scandal" and Ms Rayner described it as "an outrageous example of manipulation by an employer".
While Ms Haigh has previously criticised P&O's actions, the strength and timing of the ministers' language undermined efforts by the Department for Business and Trade to make the Investment Summit a turning point for the government and the economy.
Hundreds of business leaders and investors, including representatives of US private capital and sovereign wealth funds, will attend the event in the City of London, as the government tries to drum up billions of pounds in foreign investment to fund its plans.
The event is seen by Downing Street as an attempt to reset Sir Keir's premiership after a faltering first 100 days mired in rows about his advisers and acceptance of freebies.
As well as losing for now a £1bn investment in the UK's key strategic infrastructure, the apparent lack of coordination between ministers will again focus attention on the competence of government operations.
It is understood the decision to pull the announcement and review an investment that has been in negotiations for months was made personally by DP World's chairman Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem.
He had been due to attend the Investment Summit on Monday, but will now not travel to London.
Mr Sulayem has previously refused to apologise for P&O's actions, saying the summary sackings were a decision made by local management and ultimately ensured the survival of the company and thousands of jobs that were retained.
The £1bn investment was intended to expand the London Gateway facility, adding two new berths to the four that already exist and a second rail terminal. The expansion would have seen it become the UK's largest port by volume.
DP World generated global revenues of almost £14bn in 2023 and operates in more than 60 countries. It has already invested £2bn in London Gateway, and also owns and operates Southampton's container port.
A DP World spokesman told Sky News: "The investment is under review."
Responding to Sky's story, shadow science secretary Andrew Griffith said: "This is further evidence that Angela Rayner may have two jobs but she's costing other people theirs.
"It is not surprising that when you take union laws back to the strike-hit 70s, that the UK becomes less investable. It's not canapés at summits that sway investors, it's having a sensible environment to do business."
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer hailed next week's summit when he was quizzed about Sky's story on Friday.
When asked if his cabinet members had cost the country investment, he replied: "In the last I think four weeks we've had at least five or six huge investments in the UK, including £24bn today.
"We've got a massive investment budget, 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."
Steve Rotheram, the Labour mayor of the Liverpool City Region, defended the criticism of P&O, saying that while the UK needed as "much investment in this country as possible", he had "very little sympathy with a company that sacks its workforce".
"You can't just fire and rehire," he told Sky News. "You can't just sack workers - there are protections in this country for everybody."
A government spokesperson said: "We welcome P&O Ferries' commitment to comply with our new seafarer's legislation.
"We continue to work closely with DP World which has already delivered significant investment in the London Gateway and Southampton ports, to help deliver for the UK economy.
"Next week's International Investment Summit will bring together hundreds of global firms to show Britain is open for business."
DP World Approves $1.3B Investment in UK Despite Row Over P&O Ferries
With the much anticipated London Investment Summit opening Monday, the global port operator DP World has confirmed its $1.3 billion investment in the U.K. Last week, there were multiple reports indicating that DP World was considering a halt to funding in Britain, after criticism by a senior British government official. While presenting a new seafarers’ rights at work law last week, the Transport Secretary Louise Haigh described P&O Ferries - a DP World subsidiary - as a “rogue operator.” Haigh was referring to a 2022 scandal in which P&O Ferries fired 800 UK crewmembers and replaced them with foreign seafarers.
Following the remarks, Sky News reported that DP World had decided to review its investment plans in the U.K. Reportedly, DP World’s Chairman Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem had opted to skip the Investment Summit, where he is listed as a special guest.
But on Saturday, the Department of Business and Trade said that DP World would attend the summit as scheduled earlier. “We had to have a conversation following some of the press reports. The investment is going ahead and DP World are attending the summit,” added business minister Jonathan Reynolds.
The $1.3 billion investment is part of DP World’s expansion drive in the U.K. This funding will go into building two additional berths to the four already existing at the London Gateway port. In addition, a second rail terminal will also be constructed.
The fourth berth at London Gateway opened in August. According to the operator, the addition boosted nameplate capacity by one million TEU per year for a total of 3.4 million TEU.
The future berths 5 and 6 are scheduled to be operational by 2027 onwards. Upon completion of the planned expansion, London Gateway is poised to become the largest port in the UK, with its capacity accounting for 55 percent of the UK’s cargo flow through the southeast regi
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