Ferry firm P&O face a growing backlash against the company after it sacked 800 staff without giving them any notice.

The UK government said it would review its contracts with P&O Ferries after it fired its employees, planning to replace them with cheaper agency staff.

Unions hit out against the dismissal, saying it marked a "dark day" in the shipping industry.

P&O said it was a "tough" decision but it would "not be a viable business" without the changes.

A chorus of cross-party MPs, however, described P&O Ferries' actions as "callous" and "disgraceful".

Nearly a quarter of P&O Ferries' staff were told via a video message on Thursday that it was their "final day of employment".

The RMT union said it was one of the "most shameful acts in the history of British industrial relations". There are protests planned on Friday across the ports of Dover, Liverpool, Hull and at Larne Port as Afloat previously reported.

For much more, BBC News reports on this development facing ferry workers.