The UK government "can't do anything" now said P&O's owner

P&O Ferries has lost a major contract with the UK government after it sacked hundreds of UK-based sea-faring staff earlier this year.The Home Office said it has ended its contract with the firm to provide contingency travel services for "juxtaposed ports". Operated by British staff, these ports check passengers and goods coming into UK at border controls in Belgium and France.P&O Ferries, which operates across the English Channel, North Sea, and the Irish Sea, laid off nearly 800 workers in March via a video call. The company then went on to hire agency workers at a cheaper rate, sparking uproar from politicians and trade unions."We stand against firms who exploit loopholes and undermine workers' rights," Home Secretary Priti Patel said on Twitter.Transport minister Grant Shapps is now planning to make it mandatory for ferry companies using British ports to pay the national minimum wage.

Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, the boss of the ferry operator's Dubai-based owner DP World, told the Financial Times that reversing the job cuts was too late as the decision was in the past and added the UK government "can't do anything" now