Andy McDonald MP, Labour’s shadow transport secretary, has called for Chris Grayling to resign after news the government will pay £33m to Eurotunnel to settle a lawsuit over Brexit ferry services.
The transport secretary faces a difficult future in the House of Commons after he repeatedly defended the Department for Transport's procurement of a £13.8m contract with Seaborne Freight, which has no ships, to provide extra shipping capacity in the event of a no deal Brexit.
He argued that it would cost the taxpayer no money unless services were provided.
The contract, which was terminated after Seaborne's backers pulled out, led to Eurotunnel launching a legal challenge and now being paid off.
Mr McDonald said: 'On the same day a National Audit Office report highlights that disastrous decisions by Chris Grayling at the Ministry of Justice have wasted nearly half a billion pounds of public money we also learn that the transport secretary’s misjudgement over the award of a ferry contract has left taxpayer’s liable for £33m in compensation to Eurotunnel.
'This follows a damning Public Accounts Committee report on Wednesday on his mismanagement of the railways.
'His conduct as a minister is one of serial failure and routine incompetence. In any other sphere of life he would have been sacked long ago. I say yet again: this trail of destruction has gone on long enough. It’s time for Chris Grayling to go.'
The chair of the Transport Select Committee, Lilian Greenwood MP, highlighted that the settlement with Eurotunnel, which includes an arrangement for the company to provide extra freight capacity, is also an unknown quantity made behind the scenes.
She said: 'It comes as no surprise that the Department for Transport has had to settle this case. It was obvious from the start of this procurement that the secretary of state and the Department for Transport had got themselves into a mess. We were repeatedly told this would cost the taxpayer nothing if services weren’t provided.
'The Department spent £800,000 on the procurement and has now settled this case for £33m. It is important that we get beyond the headlines and, as ever with the Secretary of State and Department, see what the terms of this agreement actually secure.'
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