Starmer has ‘full confidence’ in Transport Secretary Louise Haigh despite disowning her criticism of P&O Ferries
SIR Keir Starmer has “full confidence” in Transport Secretary Louise Haigh despite having disowned her criticism of P&O Ferries.
No10 on Monday sought to draw a line under the Cabinet rift that saw Louise Haigh describe the firm as a “cowboy operator”, saying the Prime Minister “absolutely” backs the minister after the fallout.
In an official press release last week, Ms Haigh attacked the firm for its decision in 2022 to sack 800 workers and employ agency staff on lower pay, which it insisted was necessary to stave off bankruptcy.
In a subsequent ITV interview, she said she had been boycotting P&O for years “and I encourage consumers to do the same”.
Sir Keir later said the remarks were “not the view of the Government”.
The criticism triggered a row with P&O’s Dubai-based parent company DP World in the run-up to a major UK business summit.
Ministers were scrambling over the weekend to salvage a key investment for the London Gateway container port.
Earlier on Monday, DP World confirmed it would go ahead with its £1 billion backing after what the company described as “constructive and positive discussions” with the Government over the weekend.