The government’s Investment Summit has suffered a major blow after ports and logistics giant DP World pulled a scheduled announcement of a £1bn investment in its London Gateway container port, following criticism by members of Sir Keir Starmer’s cabinet.
Sky News understands the Dubai-based company’s investment was due to be a centrepiece of Monday’s event, which is intended to showcase Britain’s appeal to investors and will be attended by the prime minister and Chancellor Rachel Reeves.
DP World’s investment in the port is now under review however, following criticism by Transport Secretary Louise Haigh and Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner of its subsidiary P&O Ferries.
In March 2022, P&O caused huge controversy by sacking 800 British seafarers and replacing them with cheaper, largely foreign workers, a move it said was required to prevent the company from collapsing.
Announcing new legislation to protect seafarers on Wednesday, Ms Haigh described P&O as a “rogue operator” and said consumers should boycott the company.
In a press release issued with Ms Rayner, Ms Haigh said P&O’s actions were “a national scandal” and Ms Rayner described it as “an outrageous example of manipulation by an employer”.
While Ms Haigh has previously criticised P&O’s actions, the strength and timing of the ministers’ language undermined efforts by the Department for Business and Trade to make the Investment Summit a turning point for the government and the economy.
Hundreds of business leaders and investors, including representatives of US private capital and sovereign wealth funds, will attend the event in the City of London, as the government tries to drum up billions of pounds in foreign investment to fund its plans.
The event is seen by Downing Street as an attempt to reset Sir Keir’s premiership after a faltering first 100 days mired in rows about his advisers and acceptance of freebies.
As well as losing for now a £1bn investment in the UK’s key strategic infrastructure, the apparent lack of coordination between ministers will again focus attention on the competence of government operations.
Ms Haigh suggested consumers should boycott P&O Ferries. Pic: PA
It is understood the decision to pull the announcement and review an investment that has been in negotiations for months was made personally by DP World’s chairman Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem.
He had been due to attend the Investment Summit on Monday, but will now not travel to London.
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Mr Sulayem has previously refused to apologise for P&O’s actions, saying the summary sackings were a decision made by local management and ultimately ensured the survival of the company and thousands of jobs that were retained.
The £1bn investment was intended to expand the London Gateway facility, adding two new berths to the four that already exist and a second rail terminal. The expansion would have seen it become the UK’s largest port by volume.
DP World generated global revenues of almost £14bn in 2023 and operates in more than 60 countries. It has already invested £2bn in London Gateway, and also owns and operates Southampton’s container port.
A DP World spokesman told Sky News: “The investment is under review.”
Responding to Sky’s story, shadow science secretary Andrew Griffith said: “This is further evidence that Angela Rayner may have two jobs but she’s costing other people theirs.
“It is not surprising that when you take union laws back to the strike-hit 70s, that the UK becomes less investable. It’s not canapés at summits that sway investors, it’s having a sensible environment to do business.”
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer hailed next week’s summit when he was quizzed about Sky’s story on Friday.
When asked if his cabinet members had cost the country investment, he replied: “In the last I think four weeks we’ve had at least five or six huge investments in the UK, including £24bn today.
“We’ve got a massive investment budget, summit coming up on Monday where leading investors from across the globe are all coming, to the UK.
“This is very, very good for the country, very, very good for the future of jobs. It’s just the sort of change that we need to see.”
Steve Rotheram, the Labour mayor of the Liverpool City Region, defended the criticism of P&O, saying that while the UK needed as “much investment in this country as possible”, he had “very little sympathy with a company that sacks its workforce”.
“You can’t just fire and rehire,” he told Sky News. “You can’t just sack workers – there are protections in this country for everybody.”