P&O has got one of its services back up and running but the key routes between Dover and Calais remain shut after the shock mass sacking of 800 staff.

The cross-Channel operator has today said its Liverpool to Dublin ferry is now running but continues to put out a message every three hours saying services are unable to run "for the next few days".

It confirmed via separate tweets this afternoon that its Dover to Calais, Hull to Rotterdam and Larne to Cairnryan services were still suspended.

P&O is desperate to get back to normal and says it is losing £1m a day while its boats stay in port.

In extraordinary circumstances staff were marched off boats on Thursday with little warning after being told they'd lost their jobs on a company Microsoft Teams call.

Uniformed agency staff were waiting in minibuses to replace them as they were given five minutes to gather their belongings and leave.

The firm has been slammed for its way of handling the situation, which it said was necessary due to two years of £100m losses.

Critics have highlighted the phenomenal wealth of the company behind P&O, Dubai-based DP World.

It had a revenue in excess of £6.5bn prior to the pandemic, asked for £150m in Covid bail outs days before paying out £270m in dividends and placed 1,100 staff on furlough.

The government has warned the company it faces unlimited fines if it is found to have acted unlawfully.

As lorry drivers scramble to get a place on other boats heading to France, Dover TAP remains in place.

One lane of the coastbound A20 is closed from Roundhill Tunnel (Hawkinge / Alkham) to Dover (Western Heights roundabout).