The government should stop doing business with P&O immediately

I will never step on board one of P&O’s exploitative vessels again, and I encourage others to vote with their feet too

A demonstration against the dismissal of P&O workers (PA)

I’ve seen some brass neck in my time in politics, but P&O boss Peter Hebblethwaite truly takes some beating. This man, who earns around £300,000 a year, told MPs at a joint Commons select committee on Thursday that, having sacked hundreds of British workers, he intended to replace them with people earning £5.50 per hour.

Mr Hebblethwaite’s performance in front of the committee leaves me certain that I would not pay him a fiver for a full day’s work.

I’ve sailed on board many a P&O ferry in my time – my brother lives just outside Calais. I can actually drive to his house from Westminster quicker than to Birmingham in rush hour.

I for one will never step on board one of P&O’s exploitative vessels again, and I encourage others to vote with their feet too. The UK government should immediately cease to do any business with P&O or their parent company DP World. The transport secretary Grant Shapps has belatedly called for Hebblethwaite to step down, but that is not enough. Fewer words and more action from Mr Shapps would be welcome.

I almost admire Peter Hebblethwaite for his frankly bizarre level of honesty when giving evidence in parliament. Of course he started with a pre-planned apology, which sounded pretty hollow one week after throwing his staff overboard. “Sorry” is merely a word the guilty use to get out of things; actual remorse would mean looking after his workers in the future. But that was not on display. The very sorry man went on to say he had every intention of paying his new workers well below the UK minimum wage, and seemed almost proud of the poverty pay he outlined to the committee.

His startling honesty included an admission that he “chose” to break the law. Mr Hebblethwaite has obviously not been paying close attention of late. If he had, he would know that if you break the law, when you talk about it in parliament, you should follow the prime minister’s step-by-step guide: deny, lie, and refuse to answer because we have to wait for Sue Gray, the Metropolitan Police or a blue moon. But not Hebblethwaite. He fronted out his completely unlawful practice of sacking people without any consultation with the unions or staff.

I do normally like a plain speaker. But there was nothing likeable about the fact that he seemed shamelessly to be saying he would do it again, knowing full well that he is likely to get away with it. His plain speaking has been gifted to him not because of his integrity – because as sure as night follows day, the man has none. His honesty is born of impunity.

Only the British government can ensure that DP World and P&O have the smiles wiped off their faces, by suspending their licences and contracts in the UK until they agree never to break UK laws again.

As it stands, when Mr Hebblethwaite said: “I would make the same decision again, I’m afraid,” the point was that he would make the same decision again exactly because he is not afraid!

When British skilled and unionised workers can be treated so poorly, unlawfully in fact, and the companies that do it are not afraid at all to do it, and then say openly that they would do it again, what hope do any British workers have?

Grant Shapps needs to answer that question and answer it fast, because if he hands even a penny of taxpayers’ money over to people who break the laws of our land so easily and then gloat about it, what happens next?

Just imagine the standard it sets. Before you know it, we will have a prime minister accused of being unlawful, yet acting as if he’s done nothing wrong and can get away with anything. The British government simply wouldn’t stand for such a thing.

Jess Phillips is the Labour MP for Birmingham Yardley