Despite winning the latest round of a long-running legal battle, Eurotunnel has today announced it is walking away from cross-Channel ferry service MyFerryLink, putting 600 jobs at risk.

Seventy jobs in Dover and another 530 in France could be lost if the cross-channel service does not find a buyer for its fleet.

The news comes after the Court of Appeal upheld the case of a French workers’ union against the closure of MyFerryLink.

French union SCOP (Les Societes Coopératives et Participatives) leases three ferries from Eurotunnel which it runs under the MyFerryLink branding.

"If the CMA continues we're in a position of total uncertainty. It could go on a week, a month, a year. It's completely unclear and we can't operate the business properly" - Eurotunnel spokesman

Earlier this month Judges backed the challenge made by SCOP, which was fighting a ban on the operator handed out by the Competition and Markets Authority earlier this year.

The ban followed an investigation into Eurotunnel’s ownership of the service, which officials said broke monopoly rules, giving the Channel Tunnel operator more than 50% of the cross-Channel market.

But now Eurotunnel says it will not be renewing its contract with SCOP, which runs out on July 2.

Eurotunnel told KentOnline that ongoing uncertainty over the future of MyFerryLink meant it was almost impossible to make long term plans for the business.

A spokesman said: "The position of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) seems to be to get Eurotunnel out of the cross-channel ferry market.

"If the CMA continues we're in a position of total uncertainty. It could go on a week, a month, a year. It's completely unclear and we can't operate the business properly.

"Our investors are not getting the returns they might expect, and we're a private company answerable to our shareholders."

Eurotunnel said it is currently considering proposals from "several" buyers interested in purchasing the MyFerryLink fleet.

The company said it was looking to maintain activity in Calais and Dover and hoped the sale would mean services would continue to run, albeit under a new owner.

A spokesman said Eurotunnel would continue plans to introduce three new shuttles next year, increasing freight services from six to eight a day.