A sacked P&O Ferries worker has accused the Labour Government of hypocrisy over a £1bn London port investment by the operator’s Dubai-based parent company.

John Lansdown, the only one of almost 800 seafarers who refused a £30,000 payoff from the ferry giants before winning a legal battle for unfair dismissal, said Sir Keir Starmer’s attempts to built relations with DP World were a “betrayal” of workers fired on the spot in March 2022.

He also hit out at the Prime Minister’s “disgusting” attempts to distance himself from Transport Secretary Louise Haigh’s description of the company as a “rogue operator”, a comment that appeared to throw a proposed £1bn investment in the London Gateway port into doubt.

DP World announced on Monday it was ploughing ahead with the expansion whereby London Gateway would become the UK’s largest container port within five years, after Starmer said Ms Haigh had not been speaking for the Government.

Mr Lansdown, 42, from Herne Bay, Kent, who worked as a sous chef with P&O Ferries for 15 years, said seafarers who lost their jobs in the mass sacking were “incandescent with rage” over the current row.

“It feels like yet another betrayal,” Mr Lansdown told i.

“When we were sacked, we met with Keir Starmer, Louise Haigh, Angela Rayner, Karl Turner. Three out of four of these people are now in Government. And now they’re saying, ‘Well, we said that, but now we’re in Government we didn’t really mean it’.

“They were more than happy to come and stand with us on the protest lines for a photo opportunity and say the Tory government should do this, this, this and this. It’s hypocritical.

“I’ve only ever asked of Labour what they said they would do when they were in opposition, nothing more, nothing less. And that’s to hold DP World to account.”

Mr Lansdown received an out-of-court settlement with P&O Ferries after rejecting the company’s redundancy payout and refusing to sign a non-disclosure agreement.

On Monday, Science Secretary Peter Kyle hailed DP World’s £1bn investment and insisted the UK had “turned the corner” on the P&O Ferries fire and rehire scandal.

Mr Lansdown said: “It’s disgusting what they’ve done to Louise Haigh. He [Starmer] should be supporting her unequivocally.”

Another sacked P&O Ferries worker said: “Lou Haigh is completely right. If only more of the Labour MPs had the courage to stick to what they know is right.

“It’s a sad state of affairs that foreign governments own our ports and infrastructure. Keir Starmer is just worried about big business, not workers.”

The sackings of 800 seafarers in March 2022 sparked outrage after P&O revealed plans to replace the axed employees with cheaper overseas agency workers.

At the time, i revealed that top-flight P&O officers were contacted by a firm hiring replacement crews and offered a £20,000 bonus if they signed up to take back their old roles, while entry-level workers were handed contracts paying below minimum wage.

In a Commons debate as opposition leader, Starmer grilled the then prime minister, Boris Johnson, over P&O receiving more than £38m worth of Government contracts and DP World being “lined up for £50m of taxpayers’ money under the freeport scheme”.

Starmer asked: “Can the prime minister guarantee that those companies will not get a penny more of taxpayers’ money, or a single tax break, until they reinstate the workforce?”

Mr Lansdown accused Starmer of “bad leadership” and said it showed a lack of co-ordination, as he called out Labour for scoring “cheap political points” over the issue when in opposition.

“You can’t say one thing when in opposition and then another when in power and vice versa,” he said.

“People will make unfortunate comparisons and they’ll say this is dishonest. Or, if I was to be more charitable, I might say this demonstrates incredible naivety.

“We shouldn’t be rolling out the red carpet to any Tom, Dick and DP World and saying, ‘Come here and write your own rules’.”

A P&O Ferries spokesperson said the firm welcomed any legislation that created a level playing field among ferry operators and “delivers the shared ambition of Government and industry of having a thriving sector”.

They added: “We provide an industry-leading support package to seafarers and work hard to ensure their welfare, wellbeing and mental health are properly cared for.

“We have always complied with all relevant national and international laws, and we will continue to do so.

“The tough but necessary changes made in March 2022 saved the business and 2,000 jobs. The business is now on track to return to profitability, a necessary condition for any business to sustain jobs for the long term.”

Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said the sacking of the P&O Ferries’ workers was “unlawful and will continue to be unlawful”.

He added: “It is not the Government’s decision to boycott them.”

DP World was contacted for comment.