LABOUR leader Sir Keir Starmer has accused the prime minister of “handing £50million” to Southampton port terminal operator DP World despite its sacking of 800 P&O Ferries staff.

There have been calls for DP World to be ousted from the Solent Freeport project after it laid off the crews with no notice last week - and then replaced them with lower-paid agency workers.

Boris Johnson said P&O Ferries appeared to have broken the law and would face court action from the government – but accused Labour of wanting to “pitchfork away” investment from overseas.

At questions to the prime minister in the House of Commons, Sir Keir said: “Since the prime minister came to office, P&O have received over £38m of government contracts and the parent company DP World is lined up for £50m of taxpayers’ money under the freeports scheme."

Mr Johnson said the government was taking legal action because “it seems to me that they have broken the law”.

“But if he is asking this government to do what Labour usually want us to do and actively pitchfork away investment around the country from overseas, then that is not what we will do,” he added.

“We will take them to court, we will defend the rights of British workers. What we will not do is launch a wholehearted campaign, as they want, against overseas investment because that is completely wrong and wrong for those workers."

Sir Keir reacted by saying “DP World must be quaking in their boots”.

He added: “The prime minister says how disappointed he is in them whilst handing them £50m.”

A spokesperson for the Solent Freeport Consortium Ltd said: "The Solent Freeport proposal is led by a partnership of private and public sector organisations, covering the breadth of the Solent area. While developing our Solent Freeport proposal, we engaged with DP World, alongside a number of other organisations, in the context of potential customs sites.

"DP World are not a customs site, do not own land at any of the tax sites within the Solent Freeport proposal and DP World will not directly receive any public funds as part of Solent Freeport.

"We understand the situation is being reviewed nationally and we are committed to working with fovernment to consider and respond to the findings of this review. The Solent Freeport is currently in active discussion with government and DP World in relation to their wider involvement in the Solent Freeport.

"We look forward to continuing to work with government in securing a freeport for the Solent area which will bring investment to our region, create jobs and help level up our important coastal communities."

A government spokesman said: “The government has been clear that we are appalled by the way P&O have behaved towards their employees and Department for Transport ministers have raised this directly with P&O company chiefs.

“We are working urgently to establish the facts of what has happened in this case, and whether P&O or DP World are in breach of any of the requirements on them as partners in the Thames and Solent Freeports.”