Former P&O Ferries chief set sail with £622,000 pay package

The former P&O Ferries chief once described as "Britain's most hated boss" saw his pay slide in his final full year in the job - but still earned more than £600,000.

Sky News can reveal that Peter Hebblethwaite was paid £622,000 in 2024, down from £683,000 the year before. The figure is contained in accounts for P&O Ferries Division Holdings, which were published by Companies House on Wednesday.

Money latest: The problem with supermarket honey In a statement, a spokesperson for P&O Ferries said: "Our 2024 results show that our transformation is delivering. "Despite challenges in the freight market and the long-term impact of Brexit on the sector, our financial position has continued to improve, customer satisfaction is rising, and our state-of-the-art hybrid vessels on the Channel are delivering significant reductions in carbon emissions.

"The business is focused on delivering a reliable and market-leading service to our customers and is well-positioned to continue its recovery to sustainable long-term growth." The company declined to comment on Mr Hebblethwaite's pay package. Sky News revealed last autumn that P&O Ferries had hired former DFDS executive Kasper Moos as his successor.

Mr Hebblethwaite's scandal-hit tenure saw him sack hundreds of seafarers and replace them with cheaper agency staff in a move which sparked fury in 2022 and catapulted him into the ranks of Britain's most notorious corporate figures nearly four years ago. P&O Ferries - a subsidiary of the giant Dubai-based ports operator DP World - said it was sacking 800 staff with immediate effect - some of whom learned their fate via a video message.

The policy, which Mr Hebblethwaite defended to MPs during subsequent select committee hearings, erupted into a national scandal, prompting changes in the law to give workers greater protection. Mr Hebblethwaite had argued that the company would have gone bust without the drastic cost-cutting that it entailed.

P&O Ferries carries 4.5 million passengers annually on routes between the UK and continental European ports, including Calais and Rotterdam. It also operates a route between Northern Ireland and Scotland, and is a major freight carrier.

The company's losses soared during the pandemic, with DP World - its sole shareholder - supporting it through hundreds of millions of pounds in loans. Its most recent accounts show a slight escalation in losses in 2024.

In October 2024, the then transport secretary, Louise Haigh, said: "The mass sacking by P&O Ferries was a national scandal which can never be allowed to happen again," adding that measures to protect seafarers from "rogue employers" would prevent a repetition. The minister's description of P&O Ferries as "rogue.