Chris Grayling defends decision to award £13.8m Brexit ferries contract to firm with no ships

Transport secretary Chris Grayling has defended the controversial decision to award a £13m contract to a firm that has never run ships in the event of a no-deal Brexit.

Grayling has come under fire for awarding Seaborne Freight the £13.8m contract after it emerged it has never run ferries before.

Speaking to the BBC, Grayling said: “I make no apologies for supporting a new British business. We have looked very carefully at this business. We have put in place a tight contract to make sure they can deliver for us.”

French and Danish companies have also been awarded ferry contracts over the past few months, with such contracts allowing almost 4,000 extra lorries a week to operate at other ports.

Danish shipping firm DFDS received contracts worth £47.3m, while French company Brittany Ferries was given contracts up to £46.6m.

The Department for Transport (DfT) said “extreme urgency” resulted in the contracts being awarded without being put out to tender.

The DfT told the BBC that the contracts would provide "significant extra capacity" to UK ports in the event of a no-deal situation, but added that the focus was on securing a deal with Brussels for the UK’s departure from the EU.

The DfT told the BBC that Seaborne Freight will only be paid if it runs an "effective service".

Former Lib Dem leader Tim Farron MP called for a select committee to launch an inquiry into what he called a "scandal".

Meanwhile, Tory MP Heidi Allen said the reports of the contract made Britain look "like amateurs".

No competent and fiscally responsible government could ever allow ‘no deal’, but if this is as reported, it surely makes us look like amateurs too. #SeaborneFreight No-deal Brexit ferry contract sparks concerns https://t.co/ubbLGEv12r

— Heidi Allen (@heidiallen75) December 31, 2018