The boss of P&O Ferries has said "he would do it all again" as he faces MPs over the sacking of 800 staff.

Chief executive Peter Hebblethwaite is being quizzed by MPs at the transport and business select committee.

He's also confirmed the replacement staff will be paid as little as £5.50 an hour.

Mr Hebblethwaite said no union would have ever accepted the decision and the company decided to make up for this with large redundancy payoffs.

He said: "We chose not to consult the unions and decided we would compensate instead. These were very extreme circumstances. The change was of such magnitude that no union would accept it.

"We knew this was going to be controversial so it had to be confidential.

"This was a difficult decision but business would have otherwise closed, it was not viable."

When asked is he would change anything about the way things played out, he said: “The business would close. The business was not viable. This is the only way to save this business and we have moved to a model that is internationally recognised across the globe and widely used by our competitors.

“I would make this decision again, I’m afraid.”

Mr Hebblethwaite said the business had been particularly hit hard economically by the pandemic and the effects were worse than expected.

He said: "During the pandemic we anticipated it would come to an end in early 2021 but it went on for much longer.

"Overall the business was not sustainable and there could have been 3,000 redeundancies rather than 800 with substantial packages."

"The reaction to this has been extremely strong but there would be no P&O without this decision. We had to rebuild the business.

"People have cancelled booking. For Dover to Calais there has been a particularly large decline. Bookings there tend to be made two weeks in advance."

Jesper Kristenesn, chief operations officer for DP World, said: "The decision was not an easy one to sign off but we have done everything we can to make sure people were taken care of."

He stressed that DP World had not pressurised P&O to act, that it was treated as a company in its own right, making its own decisions.

Mr Hebblethwaite, when asked about his pay, said he had a £325,000 basic salary with access to two performance-related bonuses.

When asked whether he would now accept or reject those bonuses he said: "I don't know the answer to that, I am focused on saving the business."

He said the average hourly rate of pay for the newly-hired seafarers was £5.50 and £5.15 at minimum.

When it was stressed to him this was below the UK minimum wage he said it was an international seafarers rate.

He acknowledged this was a drastic saving, saying: "This model will be half the price of the previous model."

One committee member, Andy McDonald, discussed the manner of the dismissal with private security guards brought in to escort staff away. He told Mr Hebblethwaite: "People were terrified, They were going about their work. They saw people invade their ship, order them about and tell them to pack their bags and go."

Mr Hebblethwaite said: "The security team was there to keep the ships and people safe at a time that was genuinely stressful."

He said the non-disclosure agreements for dismissed staff were of "standard confidentiality class." He said the new workers were "very experienced and fully certified professional seafarers."

He also repeated his apology for the effects on sacked seafarers and their families.

The CEO had previously issued an apology for the impact of the decision to sack the staff without notice, saying he understood the “anger and shock” about the loss of jobs.

He said: “I want to say sorry to the people affected and their families for the impact it’s had on them, and also to the 2,200 people who still work for P&O and will have been asked a lot of difficult questions about this.

“Over the last week, I’ve been speaking face-to-face to seafarers and their partners. They’ve lost their jobs and there is anger and shock and I completely understand.

“We needed fundamental change to make us viable. This was an incredibly difficult decision that we wrestled with but once we knew it was the only way to save the business, we had to act.

“All other routes led to the closure of P&O Ferries. I wish there was another way and I’m sorry.”

Huw Merriman and Darren Jones, who chair the committees, said: “This session will aim to understand the detail of the options available to the 800 workers who were roundly dismissed by P&O Ferries last week.

“The cruel nature of their dismissal put employment practices and UK plc under the microscope.

“From P&O Ferries, our members want to know why this action has been taken and how it can be justified.

Read more:

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• MP says she was bullied by left wing militants

• Prime Minister says it appears P&O ‘broke the law’ over sackings

“From the government and its agencies, we want confirmation that our laws are not being broken and safety is not being compromised on our ships.

“This shocking story has raised questions about UK employment law, safety practices, the support of this business through a pandemic and the redress available. We intend to hear from the key players about what they are going to do that means these workers are not left high and dry.”

Yesterday Boris Johnson said the Government would be "taking action" over the dismissals and urged workers to do the same.

Since the shock announcement last Thursday the scandal-hit company has announced a £36.5m compensation package which has seen 40 workers receive more than £100,000, while some are expected to get over £170,000.

Many others are set to receive less than £15,000, the company said.

There has been a major backlash from the public about the decision to let loose hundreds of staff - a decision which prompted two days of protests in Dover and saw calls from MPs for a criminal prosecution to be brought forward.

It was also suggested by North Thanet MP Sir Roger Gale that P&Os Pride of Kent ship should be renamed the "Shame of Dubai", as the firm is owned by Dubai-based DP world.

Analysis from political editor Paul Francis

It was a meeting that ought to have come with a cautionary note: May contains scenes you might find upsetting.

MPs had their sights set on ferry boss and scented blood.They were in an ugly mood and wanted answers to why 800 staff had been axed. The answer - greeted with incredulity - was that the unions would not have stood for it. Full marks for candour but it set a low benchmark.

One thing we did learn was that maritime employment law is fiendishly complex; not even the experts had it nailed, which is perhaps why it might get the company off the hook.

Will the beleaguered chairman be at the helm? Who knows? But on his performance today, you wouldn't bet on it.

The company was accused of a breach of lots of laws with one academic telling MPs that it was a case of 'fire and hire' on steroids.

Either way, it was a fearsome sight seeing MPs demolish their prey, reminiscent of one of those scenes in a David Attenborough show.