P&O Ferries is facing calls to pay back the £10million it received in furlough during the Covid-19 pandemic after suddenly sacking all of its shipping staff.

The payment scheme was set up by the Government to prevent workers being laid off as a result of lockdown and travel restrictions.

But despite receiving this support, P&O Ferries told workers over Zoom yesterday that they were being fired with immediate effects to be replaced by cheaper agency staff.

The firm blamed losses of £200million over the past two years, resulting from a slump in travel caused by coronavirus.

But Dubai-based logistics giant GP World, which bought the ferry operator in 2019, paid a £270 million dividend to shareholders at the end of April 2020.

This was while P&O Ferries cut around 1,100 jobs as demand for travel crashed during the pandemic.

MP for East Hull, Karl Turner, told LBC: ‘All of that money – that £10million for furlough in the pandemic – should be clawed back.

‘Any money that the British taxpayer provided to that business should be taken back from them and the Government should be saying to the company “get round the table with the unions and negotiate some sort of deal”.

‘We cannot have a situation like this whereby businesses can behave like this with British workers.’

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A letter to Transport Secretary Grant Shapps and signed by Mr Turner and fellow Hull MPs Emma Hardy and Dame Diana Johnson said: ‘This shocking move has been made without warning, notice or consultation in a deliberate attempt to undercut the wages and conditions of British seafarers.

‘This is despite P&O Ferries’ owners, Dubai-based DP World, having received millions of pounds in taxpayer support during the pandemic.’

The letter concluded: ‘We cannot allow a dangerous precedent to be set, all the more so on transport routes which are strategically vital to the UK.’

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer told BBC Radio Humberside: ‘It just makes my blood boil. It is a complete betrayal of the workforce. It’s just disgusting.’

‘This is a company that had furlough during the Covid crisis. It is absolutely disgusting what they are trying to do. They mustn’t be allowed to get away with it.

‘I just wish the Government had done what we said and strengthened employment rights so they couldn’t do this kind of thing.

‘The Government said it was going to deal with this sort of situation. It hasn’t done it.’

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The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said maritime minister Robert Courts had raised concerns with the company’s chief executive.

He added: ‘The way these workers were informed was completely unacceptable. Clearly the way that this was communicated to staff was not right and we have made that clear.

‘Our sympathies are with these hard-working employees affected during this challenging time who have given years of service to P&O.’

P&O Ferries said: ‘The company plays a critical role in keeping trade flowing, supply chains moving, and connecting families and friends across the North and Irish seas and the English Channel. We have been at the heart of this service for years and we are committed to serving these vital routes.

‘However, in its current state, P&O Ferries is not a viable business. We have made a £100m loss year on year, which has been covered by our parent DP World. This is not sustainable. Our survival is dependent on making swift and significant changes now. Without these changes there is no future for P&O Ferries.

‘These circumstances have resulted in a very difficult but necessary decision, which was only taken after seriously considering all the available options. As part of the process we are starting today, we are providing 800 seafarers with immediate severance notices and will be compensating them for this lack of advance notice with enhanced compensation packages.

‘In making this tough decision, we are securing the future viability of our business which employs an additional 2,200 people and supports billions in trade in and out of the UK. And we are ensuring that we can continue serving our customers in a way that they have demanded from us for many years.’

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