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Grayling grossly incompetent over Seaborne Freight contract, says Labour

Shadow transport secretary Andy McDonald blasts his counterpart for awarding contracts to a firm with ‘no money, no ships, no employees, and no ports’

TRANSPORT Secretary Chris Grayling was accused of “gross incompetence” today for awarding a firm with no ships or infrastructure a £13.8 million freight contract to operate in the event of a no-deal Brexit.

Shadow transport secretary Andy McDonald blasted the decision to appoint Seaborne Freight as one of three firms awarded contracts totalling £108m to make additional crossings from Ramsgate in Kent to Ostend in Belgium to ease pressure on Dover, despite it having never run a Channel service.

He told MPs the contract “is very likely unlawful and violates every current best practice guidance issued by Whitehall” as the company has “no money, no ships, no track record, no employees, no ports, one telephone line and no working website or sailing schedule.”

Narrow port berths mean there are few suitable vessels available.

“This is a shoddy and tawdry affair and the minister is making a complete mess of it,” Mr McDonald said.

“When will he realise that this country cannot continue to suffer the consequences of his gross incompetence? Why is this calamitous Secretary of State still in post?”

Mr Grayling said he would not “address the idiocy” of his comments and that he will “make no apology” for awarding the contract to a start-up company. He later claimed that Labour’s response to him doing so means that the party “simply hate business.”

Labour MP for Hull North Diana Johnson accused Mr Grayling of “bluster and bluff” and asked why he does “not have one iota of concern about this contract being let to this shyster?”

Mr Grayling replied: “That is an inappropriate thing for any member to say and I’m not going to respond to it.”

The debate comes ahead of a protest to be held by RMT on Friday outside the Department for Transport to demand it give a “fair deal” for workers on ships under government ferry contracts.

The demands include all ferries to be fully crewed up with British ratings, recognition of trade unions, and full compliance with employment laws.

RMT general secretary Mick Cash said: “RMT has no intention of allowing any backsliding, or any stitch-ups of British seafarers … We expect [Mr Grayling] and the companies he has contracted, to meet our demands in full as a matter of urgency.”

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