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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, which is thought to be key to attracting investment in the UK.
The Dubai-based firm was reported to have been planning to announce a major investment in the UK at the Government’s International Investment Summit.
But that investment was placed under review, according to Sky News, after Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner and Transport Secretary Ms 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, 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”.
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.”
More follows on this breaking news story…
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