P&O Ferries boss Peter Hebblethwaite was described as “the most hated man in Britain” by an MSP who claimed he was a “failure” of a chief executive.
Scottish Labour’s Monica Lennon tore the shipping firm boss apart in a blistering attack as he appeared in front of a Holyrood committee on Tuesday.
P&O sparked fury earlier this month when they announced 800 workers – including dozens in Scotland – would be made redundant.
Company bosses claimed the move was necessary to stay afloat but admitted they broke the law by refusing to consult unions.
Angry staff stood firm and wouldn’t leave their boats after news of the sackings came out and had to be hauled off by security.
P&O also ignited further anger when it emerged they were paying new workers less than the UK minimum wage.
Boris Johnson called on Mr Hebblethwaite to quit and UK transport secretary Grant Shapps could soon unveil new measures to reverse the shock redundancies.
In the Scottish Parliament, Ms Lennon said the ferry chief had convinced himself he was a “saviour” despite throwing employees “overboard”.
‘How do you sleep at night?’
She told him: “The truth is you are a failure of a chief executive and most likely right now, in a crowded field, the most hated man in Britain.
“Under your leadership, P&O Ferries has executed one of the most widely condemned decisions taken by a UK company, your ethics lie at the bottom of the seabed. How do you sleep at night?”
He replied: “It was a very difficult decision. It was a decision that we implemented as effectively the only option that in our opinion we had.
“It was a decision that was designed to save thousands of jobs.”
“No union could possibly accept our proposal and therefore any consultation would have frankly been a sham.
“We are compensating people as we are required to in full and up front for the failure to consult.”
The under-fire firm were recently linked to a bid for Scotland’s new green freeports.