P&O services have been suspended and a series of protests are expected to take place after the company's decision to sack 800 seafarers.
Unions and politicians condemned the mass dismissal, blamed by the company on losses of £100m following the slump in travel because of the pandemic. The firm said early on Friday it would not be able to operate services "for the next few days" from Dover to Calais, Hull to Rotterdam, Liverpool to Dublin, and Cairnryan, Scotland, to Larne, Northern Ireland.
This morning, Peter Aylott, director of policy at the UK Chamber of Shipping, which represents the industry, said P&O Ferries had "no option but to do something". He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "The company was valued effectively in 2019 at £350m.
