Why are people protesting about P&O ferries?

You may know P&O ferries from when you go on holiday - they're a big ferry company that run routes from the UK to Ireland and Europe, as well as cruises.

Now lots of people are expressing their anger at the company after they told 800 members of staff that they were losing their jobs and would be replaced with other cheaper workers - and are asking even if the company has broken the law.

Staff were told in a video call that Thursday was their "final day of employment", but some refused to leave their ships in protest, which meant many ferry crossings had to be cancelled.

P&O said it was a "tough" decision but said its business wouldn't be able to keep going without the changes, but unions - which represent some of the workers - have threatened to take the company to court and the government called their behaviour "wholly unacceptable".

There have also been protests by workers at ferry ports in Dover, Liverpool, Hull and elsewhere in the UK against the P&O job cuts, while the ships stay docked at ports and trips have been cancelled.

P&O Ferries is one of the UK's leading ferry companies, carrying more than 10 million passengers a year before the pandemic and about 15% of all goods in and out of the UK.

Like many other transport companies, it saw customers drop in a big way during the pandemic, although it took money support grants from the UK government set up to help companies during that time.

P&O is owned by DP World, a big port and transport organisation company based in Dubai, which also owns ports at London and Southampton.

DP World announced it earned £8 billion last year and also paid out lots of money in earnings to the people who own a share in it.

Workers have spoken of their "utter dismay" after hearing the news and of feeling abandoned by the company, but P&O said its action was a "last resort" to save the business.

In a letter to the company, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps - the person in UK government with responsibility for that area - said he was "deeply concerned" at the move and questioned whether it was legal.

Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng has also written to the ferry operator's chief executive demanding answers to whether P&O have followed the rules.

Mr Kwarteng said the company "appears to have failed" to follow the correct process... which would include consulting with unions and staff representatives."

The letter says not following all the rules in this area is "a criminal offence and can lead to an unlimited fine".

In a new statement on Friday, P&O Ferries 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 crewing arrangements, which in turn would inevitably result in redundancies."