A £1bn investment in an Essex port will take place, despite a row over comments made about P&O Ferries, the business secretary has said.
It had been suggested P&O owners DP World might shelve the plan after Transport Secretary Louise Haigh described the ferry company as a “rogue operator”. But Jonathan Reynolds told the BBC DP World’s plan to expand its London Gateway port “will go ahead”.
The row had threatened to overshadow a major government summit starting on Monday, at which ministers want to showcase investment into the UK. But DP World will now attend the International Investment Summit, where the government hopes to attract billions of pounds of investment.
The row started after an interview on Wednesday in which Haigh said she had been boycotting P&O Ferries since its decision in 2022 to sack 800 staff and replace them with cheaper agency workers, adding she would “encourage consumers to do the same”.
The company has defended the decision as “tough but necessary,” arguing it was required to safeguard the future of the firm.
Speaking to Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, Reynolds said his cabinet colleague had not been expressing “the government’s position”.
He added that Labour maintained the sackings were “wrong”, but highlighted that it had now announced plans to tighten legal protections for seafarers.
“It’s now the case that, as we’re in government, we can stop what happened with P&O Ferries happening again,” he added.
Speaking on Sky News, Reynolds said the government had had to “have a conversation” with DP World, following reports the investment would be shelved.
Source: BBC
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