P&O boss won't reverse order to sack 800 staff as that would 'collapse company'

P&O Ferries chief executive Peter Hebblethwaite has told Transport Secretary Grant Shapps he will not reverse the decision to sack 800 seafarers.

In a letter to the Cabinet minister, Mr Hebblethwaite wrote: “The circumstances which led P&O Ferries to make the decision in the first place still apply.

“Complying with your request would deliberately cause the company’s collapse, resulting in the irretrievable loss of an additional 2,200 jobs.