P&O
Ferries’ owner pulls news of £1bn port investment after ministers criticise
firm
Transport
secretary denounced DP World over mass sackings while bringing in protections
for workers at sea
Gwyn Topham
and Richard Partington
Fri 11 Oct
2024 19.16 BST
DP World,
the Dubai-based owner of P&O Ferries, has put the announcement of a
reported £1bn investment in the UK on hold after fierce criticism of the firm
by ministers this week.
The
announcement of plans by DP World to expand its London Gateway port was due to
be a key part of the Labour government’s investment summit on Monday.
The event, a
showpiece to attract foreign money to the UK, was expected to be attended by
Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves.
It is
understood that the UAE owning group’s chair and chief executive officer,
Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, will now pull out of the event after Angela Rayner,
the deputy prime minister, and Louise Haigh, the transport secretary,
criticised P&O Ferries on Wednesday while announcing new worker protections
– with Haigh referring to the firm as a “rogue operator”.
Asked about
the row on Friday, Starmer declined to answer directly, saying there had been
“five or six huge investments in the UK” announced in the past four weeks.
However,
Downing Street quickly distanced itself from Haigh’s comments, with a source
saying it was the transport secretary’s personal view.
P&O
Ferries, a subsidiary of DP World since 2019, united politicians in anger in
2022 when it fired 800 crew without warning, replacing them with low-paid
agency staff working longer hours, in some cases below the minimum wage.
Announcing
moves to end fire and rehire in the employment rights bill for workers this
week, Rayner said the actions of P&O Ferries was “outrageous” and “exactly
why we’re taking bold action”.
In
interviews on Wednesday, Haigh said she had boycotted P&O Ferries and told
the Department for Transport to have no dealings with either the ferry firm or
its owning group.
Haigh said
on Wednesday: “I’ve instructed my department to have absolutely no contact with
P&O Ferries or DP World unless it is literally on safety grounds. The
department is not to have anything to do with them, and certainly not engaging
with them.”
She added:
“We are a government that wants to work in partnership with business and the
workforce, but not with rogue operators.”
However,
after news of the DP World pause on Friday, 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.”
The Dubai
firm 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.
As leader of
the opposition, Starmer himself fiercely criticised the then prime minister
Boris Johnson for giving further contracts to DP World after the P&O
sackings scandal.
He mocked
Johnson, saying “DP World must be quaking in their boots,” adding: “Can the
prime minister guarantee that these companies will not get a penny more of
taxpayers’ money – or a single tax break – until they reinstate the workforce?”
Johnson
himself and the transport secretary at the time, Grant Shapps, also denounced
the firm. Shapps said the P&O chief executive, Peter Hebblethwaite, “would
have to go” after admitting breaking the law. Hebblethwaite remains in post.
DP World
declined to comment to the Guardian on Friday, but, according to Bloomberg, a
spokesperson said it was planning to add two berths for deep-sea vessels at its
London Gateway port, increasing the port’s capacity by 50%, but the plan was
now under review.
The shadow
business and trade secretary, Kevin Hollinrake, said it was a “body blow for
the government”, adding: “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.”
It is
understood that several global firms, regardless of political rows, have been
considering their attendance at the event that takes place three weeks before
the government spells out its policies in the budget on 30 October.
One finance
industry executive compared the organisation of the upcoming investment summit
unfavourably with similar events held by President Macron in France. They said:
“Getting information and the usual things you need to brief your CEO has been
difficult. The timings are late, details of the venue late, and also the
opportunities for things like meetings on sidelines and knowing who else is
going.”
Another
source said it was “strange” the budget was planned to come after the
investment summit, given there were several key questions about tax and
spending policy on which major firms would want clarity. “The timing is not
ideal,” they said.
The main
event takes place on Monday at the Guildhall, in the City of London, with a
more exclusive reception at St Paul’s Cathedral attended by the PM and a member
of the royal family in the evening. Sponsors include Barclays, Lloyds and HSBC,
and CEOs attending include M&G’s Andrea Rossi, Greg Jackson of Octopus,
Jackie Wild of TSL and David Solomon of Goldman Sachs. Reeves will give the
keynote speech.
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