Calls for P&O Ferries boss Peter Hebblethwaite to resign grow

The prime minister has backed calls for the boss of P&O Ferries to resign over the no-notice sackings of 800 staff.

Boris Johnson supported Transport Secretary Grant Shapps in urging Peter Hebblethwaite to step down after his "brazen" law breaking, No 10 said.

He admitted to MPs that he broke the law by not consulting workers but said he would do the same again if he had to.

A government spokesperson said it has asked for a review of P&O's actions.

P&O Ferries replaced staff with agency workers paid less than the minimum wage.

Mr Hebblethwaite prompted further anger when he told the transport committee P&O "did choose not to consult" on the move and "did not believe there was any other way to do this".

P&O's owner DP World had warned Mr Shapps that Irish Ferries was a new "low-cost competitor" that would pose a challenge to the business, minutes from a meeting in November revealed.

Mr Shapps had replied to DP World boss DP Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem: "I'm aware of the issues relating to P&O. I recognise you will need to make commercial decisions, but please do keep us informed."

But the transport secretary told BBC Breakfast the first he knew of the P&O sackings was when he was "stood at the despatch box" in the Commons last Thursday delivering a statement on another issue.

He added that even if he had known in advance, "it wouldn't have made any difference", because P&O Ferries had already hired agency staff, security, and recorded the video "behind everybody's backs".

The BBC has seen a letter Mr Hebblethwaite sent to P&O colleagues on Friday telling them "this type of dismissal could not and would not happen again".

He called it a "unique situation" and said no criminal offence had been committed.

He wrote that there had been "a failure to comply with the obligation to consult".

P&O Ferries had made redundancies due to pandemic pressures before the mass sackings, but had previously consulted unions.

Friday's talks between union officials and P&O ended after 20 minutes without any agreement, the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) said.

General secretary Mick Lynch said: "P&O were not prepared to listen to any scenario or develop any idea that would provide a means to create a solution to the current disastrous situation."

It has called for the immediate disqualification of Mr Hebblethwaite as a director. It also wants the government to reinstate sacked workers in their jobs.

The Institute of Directors has said Mr Hebblethwaite could face court proceedings under the Company Directors Disqualification Act (1986).

Dr Roger Barker, director of policy and governance, said this was due to Mr Hebblethwaite's suggestion that P&O knowingly broke the law by not consulting staff.

"[Mr Hebblethwaite] leaves himself and the rest of the board vulnerable to court proceedings for unfit conduct and the potential for disqualification as a director, not just of P&O but any UK company."

Labour's shadow transport secretary, Louise Haigh, also called on the government to disqualify Mr Hebblethwaite as a company director.

She told BBC News: "The government can do more than just wait for the chief executive to go. The government should be investigating action against him to disqualify him as a company director now and in the future as well."

Mr Shapps told BBC Breakfast the government would bring in measures next week to force P&O Ferries into a U-turn to re-employ staff on at least minimum wage.

These changes would also affect the operator Irish Ferries, who he said have used "the same model".

Asked about the action government could take against P&O, Mr Shapps admitted it "can't directly" revoke P&O's licence but said "we do have some mechanisms".

"There are a whole load of other things happening including letters going out to the ports from which they sail, then, as I mentioned, different types of legislation will be forthcoming, so we are going to make sure P&O have to U-turn on this."

However, Beth Hale, partner at employment law firm CM Murray, questioned the government's capacity to force through a change.

"It's not clear what mechanisms the government is proposing to rely on to force a U-turn in this matter. The dismissals of the employees have already taken effect - and some may already have signed up to settlement agreements and accepted termination payments.

"There is no mechanism in the law as it currently stands which would allow the government or unions to force an employer to re-engage employees in those circumstances," she said, adding that pressure could be applied in different ways such as the Insolvency Service disqualifying individual P&O Ferries directors.

A government spokesperson said that it has asked the Insolvency Service to review P&O Ferries' actions.

"This will include any scope to take legal action against the company's directors. We will not hesitate to take further action if we find evidence of wrongdoing," they added.

P&O Ferries has said its 800 redundant staff will be offered £36.5m in total - with around 40 getting more than £100,000 each.

The company said some employees are set to get 91 weeks' pay and the chance of new employment, and no employee would receive less than £15,000.

Mr Shapps also told Radio 4's Today programme: "What they've done is try to pay off, or attempt to pay off, their staff with higher redundancy payments...and therefore buy their silence and we cannot have a situation where laws are being creatively used and abused in this case."

He said: "The idea that you come to parliament and you admit that you deliberately set out to break the laws in order to sack your staff and bring in below minimum wage people and that you'll buy off the staff to do that is quite simply unacceptable.

"They've exploited loopholes, they've been completely disgraceful and I'm clear that is no way to behave and not the right individual to have at the top of a British business."