by Allies of the Transport Secretary Sir Keir Starmer have accused him of using her as a “decoy” to save a £1 billion contract with P&O owners.
DP World has announced it will press ahead with the investment after the Prime Minister made public comments about Louise Haigh.
The company, based in the United Arab Emirates, had threatened to pull out of a major business summit after calling it a “rogue operator”.
But she was persuaded to return to the board after senior officers in No. 10 late night phone calls to the company to distance themselves from her comments.
DP World confirmed on Saturday night that the £1bn investment in the new Thames freeport would now go ahead on Monday as planned.
Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, chairman of DP World, is set to confirm the funding at the UK Global Investment Summit to be held in central London.
A spokesman for the company said: “After positive and constructive discussions with the Government, we have been given the clarity we need.
“We look forward to participating in the international investment summit on Monday.”
A Downing Street source said: “The reason they are coming is because we have worked overnight as we do with sincerity, warmth and partnership.
“We have shown that we are sensible, serious partners. That’s what these investors are bringing in on Monday and that’s how we solved this.”
The situation happened when No. 10 blamed Ms Haigh for the row, saying comments she made in a broadcast interview on Wednesday angered the company.
The Transport Secretary told ITV News that ferry owner P&O was a “rogue operator” and urged British consumers to boycott it.
Her remarks were a reference to the firm’s decision in 2022 to lay off 800 staff, mainly in Dover, and a plan to replace them with cheaper workers abroad.
Ms Haigh’s description of P&O as a “rogue operator” echoed the language used in a Government press release issued earlier in the day.
The release was co-released with Angela Rayner and signed No. it’s 10.
However, Downing Street appeared to place all the blame on Ms Haigh, saying that it was her call for a boycott that had caused DP World’s anger.
Sir Keir dismissed her comments directly, saying they were “not the Government’s view”.
The approach angered some Labor MPs who said Ms Haigh had been punished for saying the party line on P&O until recently.
Ian Byrne, Labor MP for Liverpool West Derby, said: “Lou Haigh is right to refer to P&O Ferries as a rogue operator.
“They fired their entire workforce without notice, via video call and replaced them with agency workers.
“These are rogue operator practices that our movement should never forget or condone.”
One Labor MP said they agreed with claims that Ms Haigh had been made a “scapegoat” and questioned why Mr Rayner was not to blame.
They also said that decision No. 10 prioritize the relationship with DP World to protect it.
Another Labor MP said Ms Haigh had the right to “bring P&O’s appalling past behavior to the fore” and that Sir Keir should not have been backed by threats.
They said: “If the company wants to show that they have made a change, and that they want to invest in Britain, this is of course welcome.
“But if they are threatening to withdraw investment over a fair opinion from a minister, then maybe they haven’t changed much after all.”
‘Totally unacceptable’
Matt Wrack, head of the Labour-affiliated Fire Brigades Union, condemned the “teaching” against Ms Haigh as “absolutely unacceptable”.
“Louise Haigh of the Fire Brigades Union has the full support and solidarity of her clear opposition to P&O and other rogue employers,” he said.
Some critics pointed out that Sir Keir, although he was opposition leader, had said the Tories would have to cut ties with P&O until the sacked workers were reinstated.
Questions about Ms Haigh’s future have been raised amid suggestions that Sir Keir will hold a Cabinet reshuffle early next year.
But The Telegraph understands that her job is not under immediate threat and that the Prime Minister still has full confidence in her.
Her longer-term future in the top team had already been cast in doubt after she angered No 10 by keeping him blindsided by the train drivers’ pay fix.
It could be politically sensitive for Sir Keir to get her place, given that she is one of the few left-wing people sitting around the Cabinet table.
