P&O Ferries ‘give business a bad name’ amid rising anger and protests over sackings – as it happened

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news

• Government: P&O Ferries lost public trust & given business a bad name
• Threat of criminal" proceedings and an unlimited fine
• Bishop of Dover and Justin Welby: Ill-treating workers is sinful
• Downing Street investigating legality of sackings
• Protests at ports across UK, and in London
• Labour demand goverment action over P&O
• Introduction: Unions say sackings clearly illegal'
• What are the legal implications of P&O Ferries sacking 800 staff?
• P&O Ferries suspension: your consumer questions answered

P&O Ferries is facing pressure to return the furlough cash it received in the pandemic.

In his interview with Sky News, Armed forces minister James Heappey suggested the company ought to return the money, reportedly 10m, having sacked its 800 staff yesterday.

It sounds like exactly the sort of thing that if I were the Treasury I would be asking for, but I don't know exactly how these things work.

Defence minister James Heappey said it would be right" for the firm to hand back money claimed during the Covid pandemic - and suggested the government was looking at ways to reclaim it.

It certainly feels to me that it would be the right thing to do for P&O to hand that money back," the minister told Times Radio. I'm sure that colleagues at the Treasury and Department for Transport will be looking into it."