Logistics giant DP World announces £1bn investment at government summit after P&O Ferries row
DP World marked its involvement in the prime minister's investment summit by confirming a £1bn plan to expand the London Gateway, ITV News Political Correspondent Carl Dinnen reports
Logistics giant DP World has revealed a £1 billion plan to expand the London Gateway container port at the government’s investment summit, despite a row over its subsidiary P&O Ferries.
The tension between the government and DP World has dominated the headlines around the government's first International Investment Summit being held in London on Monday.
On Friday there were reports the P&O Ferries owner was set to shelve the announcement over calls from a government minister to boycott its subsidiary.
The Transport Secretary Louise Haigh described P&O Ferries as a “rogue operator” in an interview with ITV News.
Haigh also went further in her criticism of the ferry company, saying: “I’ve been boycotting P&O Ferries for two-and-a-half years, and I encourage consumers to do the same.”
Her comments came two and a half years after P&O caused outrage by firing almost 800 seafarers and replacing them with cheaper foreign agency workers.
The company was paying some of them as little as £5 an hour and asking them to work up to 17 weeks without a day off.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer later said calls for a boycott of the ferry firm was “not the view of the government” following reports DP World would pull out of the summit.
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But ITV News also understands the comments made by Haigh alongside the announcement in which she called P&O Ferries "cowboy operators" were signed off by Downing Street.
DP World, which specialises in logistics and shipping cargo, confirmed over the weekend it would still attend the summit.
On Monday, DP World marked its involvement in the event by confirming the investment plan, which it said would expand London Gateway to become Britain’s largest container port within five years.
Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, group chairman and chief executive of DP World, said: “DP World London Gateway will help make Britain’s trade flow in the future by connecting domestic exporters with global markets and delivering vital supply chain resilience for the whole economy.
“I am proud of this major investment which underlines DP World’s long-term commitment to the UK.”
The chairman dodged questions when asked about the row by ITV News Business and Economics Editor Joel Hills on Monday.
When asked if it was a "huge relief" that the investment has been secured, Science and Technology Secretary Peter Kyle agreed.
Kyle said DP World have "been on a journey", pointing to the fact they have now signed up to the government's new worker's rights legislation which bans fire and rehire practices.
Delivering his keynote speech at the conference, Starmer promised to "rip out the bureaucracy that blocks investment."
"We will upgrade the regulatory framework", he said.
The PM also sought to reassure investors that his government's new workers' rights deal will also help businesses.
"I know some people may be wondering about our labour market policies introduced last week. Let me be clear – they are pro-growth", he said.
The government is expected to unveil other investment deals worth billions in AI, life sciences at the summit.
The gathering will see the government pitch the UK as “open for business” as around 300 industry leaders worth an estimated £40 trillion in assets gather in London’s Guildhall.
Speakers include Ruth Porat, president and chief investment officer of Google and Alphabet, and David Ricks, chief executive of pharmaceutical firm Eli Lilly.
In a joint letter to the Times that will be welcomed by the prime minister, businesses including JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs wrote on Monday: “We are optimistic about the future of the economy, and believe it is time to invest in Britain.”
However, Elon Musk, with whom Starmer found himself in a war of words earlier this year due to social media posts made by the tech tycoon about the summer riots, will be a notable absence from the summit.
But Technology Secretary Peter Kyle said on Monday: “Elon Musk would have been very, very welcome if he had an open investment programme that we could have latched on to".
“We would love to engage with Elon Musk. If he opens up an investment programme and there is global competition for it – believe me, we will be first in line, I will be first in line knocking on his door to try and get that investment here.”
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