P&O Ferries: criminal investigation launched after staff sackings
Criminal and civil investigations have been launched into the conduct of P&O Ferries after the operator summarily sacked nearly 800 crew without notice or consultation.
The Insolvency Service said it had “initiated both formal criminal and civil investigations” into the circumstances of the redundancies, after making inquiries at the request of the government.
The move was confirmed in a letter to the business secretary, Kwasi Kwarteng, who tweeted that he and the transport secretary, Grant Shapps, would “continue to follow this matter closely as the investigations progress”.
<p lang=«en» dir=«ltr» xml:lang=«en»>Following my letter to the Insolvency Service last week, formal criminal and civil investigations into P&O Ferries have now commenced. Transport Secretary @GrantShapps and I will continue to follow this matter closely as the investigations progress. pic.twitter.com/CdtInufaISThe announcement comes after Shapps appeared to admit court action would not be taken by the government, back tracking on an earlier statement by the prime minister, Boris Johnson.
The move will be welcomed by MPs on all sides who had urged the government to not let P&O escape without sanction for choosing to break the law.
P&O Ferries chief executive, Peter Hebblethwaite, admitted last week in an extraordinary Commons hearing that there was “absolutely no doubt we were required to consult with the unions … We chose not to do that.”
The firm laid off 786 crew on British contracts issued out of Jersey, telling them that they were being replaced by cheap agency workers with immediate effect, and imposing a deadline for them to accept a compensation payoff while forfeiting the right to legal action. All but one of the sacked crew had accepted by
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