P&O Ferries has "lost the trust of the public and has given business a bad name", Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng has said in a letter to the company's chairman. The letter, also signed by business minister Paul Scully and addressed to chairman Robert Woods, said the way staff have been treated "has been appalling".
"It is particularly depressing that this should happen given the millions of pounds of British taxpayer support P&O companies received from the furlough scheme," it added. "It cannot be right that the company feels tied closely enough to the UK to receive significant amounts of taxpayer money but does not appear willing to abide by the rules that we have put in place to protect British workers.
"At the very least, P&O should have given the Government the courtesy of sufficient notice so we and our agencies could have worked with you to protect workers and support those in finding alternative employment."
