P&O Ferries Dubai parent firm pauses investment after minister's criticisms

DP World, the Dubai-based owner of P&O Ferries, has put the announcement of a reported £1bn investment in Britain on hold after fierce criticism of the firm by ministers this week.

- Gwyn Topham Richard Partington

The announcement of plans by DP World to expand its London Gateway port was due to be a central 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-owned 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 yesterday, 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.