Mike Kane MP, Labour’s Shadow Maritime Minister, responding to the news of over 1,000 job losses on P&O’s key routes from Dover and Hull to the continent, said:

“This comes at the worst time for P&O seafarers who have maintained key supply lines to the UK during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“It is disappointing that P&O feels it needs to make these redundancies while its owners have paid out hundreds of millions of pounds in dividends in Dubai.

“This is a real blow to British seafarers and there is now a real fear that these jobs will never return to Dover or Hull. The Government has kept P&O afloat through £10m in furlough payments, so any further taxpayer support must be contingent on protecting UK jobs and these lifeline routes. We now need decisive action from this Government to protect jobs and the UK’s long term maritime interests.”