The company P&O Ferries, reports BBC News, has been urged to hand back the money it received to furlough staff during the coronavirus pandemic as Afloat reported in March 2020.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said the firm should repay the £11m in government money it had received.

The ferry firm sparked outrage after sacking almost 800 seafarers and replacing them with cheaper agency workers paid below the minimum wage.

Mr Shapps' comments came as P&O Ferries resumed (UK-France) sailings for the first time since the sackings.

On Tuesday, the Spirit Of Britain was the first P&O vessel to resume sailings on the Dover-Calais route, after being detained for nearly a fortnight by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency over safety concerns.

The vessel was carrying 'freight' customers only, with passenger services expected to start again early next week.

It is the only P&O ship back in service on the Dover to Calais route, with three others still waiting to pass inspections.

It came after another P&O ship (European Causeway) spent hours adrift without power in the Irish Sea.

P&O said the incident was caused by a "temporary mechanical issue" that had been resolved.

The ship - which will now be visited by maritime inspectors - returned to port "under its own propulsion, with local tugs on standby," a spokesperson added.

More on the ongoing ferry story including the UK government response to the controversial crewing dispute.