Tuesday 31 May 2022 1:00 pm

Home Office and DfT rescind P&O contract as company crackdown goes on

The owner of P&O praised the ferry operator’s management for doing an “amazing job.” (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

The Home Office and the Department for Transport (DfT) have announced they rescinded a contract with P&O as the government crackdown against the disgraced ferry operator continues.

“The Home Office has terminated its agreement with P&O to provide contingency travel services to juxtaposed ports with immediate effect,” home secretary Priti Patel tweeted last night.

“Alongside the Department for Transport we stand against firms who exploit loopholes and undermine workers’ rights.”

🚨 Home Secretary @PritiPatel: "The Home Office has terminated its agreement with P&O to provide contingency travel services to juxtaposed ports with immediate effect. Alongside the @transportgovuk we stand against firms who exploit loopholes and undermine workers’ rights."
— Home Office (@ukhomeoffice) May 30, 2022

Under the agreement, P&O provided travel services for British staff that worked in Belgium and France as border control, checking passengers and freight headed to the UK.

Patel’s words were echoed by transport secretary Grant Shapps, who added he was calling for a review of government agreements with the operator.

I called for a full review of government agreements with P&O Ferries and working with @ukhomeoffice we've terminated @UKBorder's one-of-a-kind agreement with the company.

We're reforming maritime law to stop firms exploiting legal loopholes and protect workers’ rights.
— Rt Hon Grant Shapps MP (@grantshapps) May 30, 2022

The government’s response has come on the same day P&O’s Dubai owner, DP World, praised the ferry operator’s chief executive Peter Hebblethwaite for doing “an amazing job” after he sacked 800 seafarers and replaced them with cheaper labour.

“Peter has done an amazing job because he managed to save the company instead of 3,000 people [being] out of a job,” DP World’s chief executive Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem told the Financial Times yesterday.