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Revealed: Government spends £230m with P&O and its owner after condemning the sacking of 800 crew
Last month, Louise Haigh MP, Labour’s shadow secretary of state for transport, submitted written parliamentary questions to every Whitehall department requesting details of how much money the government had spent with P&O Ferries and its parent company DP World since March 2022.
In a letter to Peter Hebblethwaite, dated March 18, 2022 (the day after the illegal sackings), Grant Shapps warned that officials planned to “review all contracts the government currently has with both P&O Ferries and DP World”.
He added: “There can be no doubt that the government is closely considering its relationship with your organisation”.
On March 21, 2022, in a parliamentary debate, Mr Shapps suggested the issue was a priority. He told MPs “we are reviewing, as a matter of urgency, all government contracts with P&O Ferries and with DP World. Where possible, we are looking to use other providers if there are contracts where the UK government is involved”.
He added: “We will make sure we send a powerful message to every other employer in this country that such disgraceful treatment of workers will never be tolerated”.
Labour insists it would have withdrawn every government contract from P&O Ferries and DP World - which is based in Dubai and made a record profit last year - without exception. It accuses the government of weakness.
The responses reveal that, as of last month, approximately $291 million (£228,600,000) had been paid to both companies.
https://www.itv.com/news/2023-08-10/government-spends-230m-with-p-and-o-and-its-owner-after-condemning-sacking-of-800