P&O’s owner DP World loses partner status at Solent freeport
P&O Ferries’ owner DP World has lost its partner status in the Solent freeport project, ministers said.
“On 28 March 2022 DP World resigned from the Solent freeport board and are no longer a partner in the freeport consortium,” levelling up minister Stephen Greenhalgh told the Guardian.
DP World’s commercial director Aart Hille Ris Lambers was forced to quit the freeport’s board following pressure from board members, including Portsmouth council leader Gerald Vernon-Jackson.
The company will continue to operate the port of Southampton, which is an integral part of the Solent project.
“They’re not about to flee the port or anything, they’ll continue to operate the container terminal,” said Labour MP Alan Whitehead, whose constituency includes the port of Southampton.
“But the freeport develops without their lead involvement. Among other things that’s a better guarantee that the terms and conditions in the freeport are likely to be better respected.”
P&O and DP World have come under fire when the ferry operator sacked around 800 members of staff and replaced them with agency workers who were paid less than the UK minimum wage when in international waters, City PM reported.