UK launches criminal investigation into P&O Ferries

The Insolvency Service wrote to Kwasi Kwarteng, Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy of United Kingdom, confirming its intentions, in reply to a letter from Mr. Kwarteng asking the Service to undertake an ‘urgent and thorough enquiry into the circumstances surrounding the redundancies… to determine whether the law has been complied with and consider prompt and appropriate action where it has not’.

Mr Kwarteng said that he and transport secretary Grant Shapps would continue to follow the investigation closely, while stating that the Insolvency Service has reviewed P&O Ferries’ actions and placed it under criminal investigation for its actions.

This is a welcome and overdue development. The least our members could expect for a company that wilfully and blatantly broke the law

said Nautilus general secretary Mark Dickinson.

During March, P&O Ferries announced that it fired 800 seafarers. According to media reports, employees were shown a pre-recovered video message, informing them that 800 people were being immediately dismissed.

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However, they would get a compensation for the lack of notice. After that, they were asked to promptly leave the vessels, with reports of security guards being sent to the ships.

The company said that this action was difficult, however important changes were necessary to maintain the business. The company said it had a total of approximately 3,000 employees and that they were moving to protect the jobs of 2,200 employees.

For the 800 employees that are dismissed from the ships, they were told that they would be replaced by agency employees.