The government had to “have a conversation” in order to secure the landmark DP World investment announcement that was reportedly derailed by comments from the transport secretary.
Appearing on Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips, Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds was asked how close the government came to losing the £1bn commitment in the London Gateway port.
Mr Reynolds said: “Look, we’ve had to have a conversation following some of the press reports.”
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The £1bn pledge was said to have been thrown into jeopardy by the Dubai-based firm DP World – which owns P&O Ferries – after Transport Secretary Louise Haigh branded the shipping company a “rogue operator” and said consumers should boycott it.
In March 2022, P&O Ferries caused huge controversy by sacking 800 British seafarers and replacing them with cheaper, largely foreign workers, a move it said was required to prevent the company from collapsing.
Sky News revealed on Friday that the £1bn investment announcement was under review – before it was revealed yesterday that it would go ahead as planned.
Asked if the announcement – set to be the landmark pledge of the coming week’s investment summit – was almost pulled, Mr Reynolds would only say that it is now “going ahead”.
The minister was also questioned about why Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk was not going to be present at the government’s investment summit.
Asked repeatedly about the reason for the world’s richest man’s non-attendance, Mr Reynolds said he would not comment on a “specific person”, but said the gathering was about “who can bring the kind of investments that will make the biggest difference” – before adding that “not everyone can come”.
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