P&O sackings scuppers charitable Briton’s plan to deliver Ukraine refugee aid

All services have been cancelled “for the next few days”, the company said

P&O said it planned to resume its services in the coming days (PA)

A man who was planning to drive across Europe to deliver aid to Ukrainian refugees has been forced to postpone his journey after the P&O Ferries mass sacking.

Stuart Davison, 52, from North Yorkshire, was headed to Poland with a friend to take supplies including food, sanitary products and medicine to those in need.

However, the ferry company’s decision to sack 800 staff on Thursday has seen the suspension of all its services and passengers stranded.

Mr Davison, who was to make the trip to Szydłowiec County with his friend, is looking for alternative travel arrangements to ensure the necessities reach Poland.

“We set a budget of £1,200 each for the journey but that has gone out of the window now,” he said.

“We are going to need to find another £800 to get to the Eurotunnel and then through to France.”

P&O said on Friday it would not be able to operate services “for the next few days” from Dover, Hull, Liverpool or Cairnryan, Scotland - though added it was organising travel via alternative operators “where possible”.

It advised passengers already at Dover or Calais to head to a check-in booth for Danish first DFDS, but those in other ports were left without instruction.

Refugees rest inside the theatre hall of Dom Ukrainski W Przemyslu in Przemysl, Poland (REUTERS)

“Space is very limited so we suggest if your journey is not essential, please do not travel today,” the company added.

Following backlash over its mass sackings, P&O Ferries’ acknowledged they came without “warning of prior consultation” and “caused distress for [workers] and their families.

In a statement released on Friday, it said: “We took this difficult decision as a last resort and only after full consideration of all other options, but ultimately, we concluded that the business wouldn’t survive without fundamentally changed crew arrangements, which in turn would inevitably result in redundancies.

“We also took the view, in good faith, that reaching agreement on the way forward would be impossible and against this background, that the process itself would be highly disruptive, not just for the business but for UK trade and tourism.”

It said the changes would bring the company in line with standard industry practice, and would reintroduce services in the coming days.