The transport minister Chris Grayling is facing more criticism after he failed to appear in the Commons to answer urgent questions about the £33m settlement with Eurotunnel.

Mr Grayling’s absence from the Commons drew opposition derision and claims that he was trying to avoid further questioning about the terms of the deal with Eurotunnel, which has now dropped a lawsuit over the way the government had offered contracts to three companies to provide additional ferry capacity in the event of a ‘no deal’ Brexit.

Among the three was a £13.8m contract awarded to Seaborne Freight to operate services between Ramsgate and Ostend. That contract collapsed when one of the company's key investors said it could no longer support it.

There was no explanation for Mr Grayling’s non-appearance, prompting opposition party claims that he was running scared.

In his place, Health Secretary Matt Hancock responded to questions about the settlement.

He defended his colleague, saying the out-of-court payment had secured the supply of medicines if there was no Brexit deal this month.

That failed to satisfy Labour Transport spokesman Andy McDonald, who said the cabinet minister had shown his "disregard for taxpayers" by his absence and repeated calls for him to be sacked immediately.

He said: “Even in this golden age of ministerial incompetence, the transport secretary stands out from the crowd. He leaves a trail of destruction in his wake, causing chaos and wasting billions of pounds yet he shows no contrition, no acknowledgement of his mistakes nor any resolve to learn and improve.”

Meanwhile the South Thanet Conservative MP Craig Mackinlay admitted he was a little bit annoyed about the payment to Eurotunnel but said the secretary of state was doing a difficult job.

Asked about the size of the payout, he said:“There must be a reason for it but it did leave me a little bit annoyed. I have been begging for scraps for the port of Ramsgate. We recently got a share of money to help authorities who have ports prepare for Brexit, which was welcome, but we need more. Some of that £33m might have been money that we could have used for Ramsgate.”