The government quietly rekindled its relationship with P&O owner DP World just eight months after ministers decried its “brutal” and illegal sacking of almost 800 workers in Britain, newly released records reveal.

In March 2022, then prime minister Boris Johnson promised that the firm, which is ultimately owned by Dubai’s ruling royal family, “aren’t going to get away with it” after it summarily dismissed hundreds of workers with a pre-recorded four-minute video.

The then transport secretary Grant Shapps called for P&O boss Peter Hebblethwaite to resign after he admitted to MPs that he had deliberately broken the law by failing to consult his workers before firing them – and that he would do the same thing again.

But records released last week show that ministers met with P&O’s owners DP World to discuss new business deals less than a year after the scandal, having done little to compel the company to change its ways – Hebblethwaite is still in post and the government has not acted on its threats to fine the company.

The UK’s development finance body also confirmed to openDemocracy for the first time since the scandal that DP World will benefit from a further investment of hundreds of millions of pounds of aid money into a joint project.

The development minister, Andrew Mitchell, met with DP World representatives in January 2023, according to details of ministerial meetings published by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office last week.

The meeting was to “understand the partnership between British International Investment and DP World benefits Senegal’s economy [sic] and to highlight the UK’s investment to date, signal UK interest in future investment, and unblock the issues which are preventing construction from commencing,” the department said.

A month later, DP World met with Dominic Johnson, a minister at the Department for Business and Trade, to discuss “freeports, UK regulation and expansion plans”.

TUC employment rights lead Tim Sharp said: “Rogue employers shouldn’t be rewarded for treating their staff like throwaway labour.

“Ministers promised they would ‘not stand by’ when P&O Ferries sacked 800 seafarers. But two years on, the Conservatives are handing out yet more lucrative contracts to its parent company.

“This is further proof that the Tories don’t care about workers’ rights.”

Mitchell’s meeting signalling “further investment” suggests that the government could be preparing to up its stake in a joint venture with DP World. 

In 2021, the UK invested $320m (£251m) in a project to modernise African ports through its development finance institution, British International Investment (BII), which is funded through the UK’s aid budget. DP World said at the time that it was investing a further $1bn (£787m) of its own money in the partnership.

The BII uses UK aid funding to invest in private business in low and middle income countries with the aim of creating jobs and thereby contributing to poverty reduction. The organisation was criticised in 2016 by the National Audit Office (NAO) for insufficiently demonstrating it made a “lasting difference” to the world’s poorest.

The government refused to include the investment in a promised review of DP World’s public contracts following the scandal, saying in April 2022 that “BII operates at arm’s length to the government”. It did not respond this week to questions about why a government minister was sent to the meeting if BII deals were outside its remit.

BII confirmed to openDemocracy that it was committed to making further investments with DP World. 

Nautilus International, a trade union that represents seafarers, said the restarting of relations in January 2023 was proof that the government have “seemingly seen fit to award bad behaviour, despite tough talk in the aftermath of P&O Ferries actions”.

They added: “This cannot be normalised, or we will see another P&O Ferries happen again.”

The government said it carried out a review of all public contracts with P&O in 2022 and cancelled one as a result. It claimed that no further contracts have been awarded, but the Ministry of Defence has spent £900,000 with the firm for freight and passenger transport since. And in May last year, the government also gave DP World approval to co-run the Thames Freeport, its third port in the UK along with two others it solely runs in Southampton and London.

This week, the Guardian reported that DP World had paid some crew members less than half the UK minimum wage thanks to a legal loophole that the government promised to close two years ago.

A spokesperson for British International Investment said: “Our partnership with DP World in Africa is transforming the economic prospects of tens of millions of people across the continent. The three ports in Dakar, Sokhna and Berbera, in which we have co-invested hundreds of millions of dollars, are improving access to vital goods for 35 million people.”

A government spokesperson said: “Ministers regularly meet with businesses and international investors to understand how the UK’s commitments on international development can be delivered and to champion the UK as an investment destination, create jobs and boost the UK economy.”

“The new Seafarers’ Wages Act is being brought into force to help prevent an issue like the P&O one from happening again. The act will ensure seafarers working aboard ferries are paid at least an equivalent to the UK National Minimum Wage and is expected to come into force in the summer.