P&O Ferries’ owner pulls news of £1bn port investment after ministers criticise firm

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.