P&O boss Peter Hebblethwaite faced MSPs in the Scottish Parliament today and it was full of drama for the entire 60 minutes of evidence.
At session of the Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee the chief executive was branded the "most hated man in Britain" and revealed he refused to take a pay cut.
The firm has been heavily criticised after it sacked 800 seafarers (39 in Scotland) across the United Kingdom over video call and without prior notice.
Ahead of the hour-long session Hebblethwaite wrote to Transport Secretary Grant Shapps insisting he will not reverse the decision to sack the staff.
Re-employing the sacked workers on their previous wages would "deliberately cause the company's collapse, resulting in the irretrievable loss of an additional 2,200 jobs", the letter stated.
"I cannot imagine that you would wish to compel an employer to bring about its own downfall, affecting not hundreds but thousands of families."
Politicians from all sides rounded on the boss to question him about the decision made earlier this month.
Here are the five most shocking moments:
'Most hated man in Britain'
Scottish Labour MSP Monica Lennon was visibly furious with the CEO and asked him some direct questions.
She said: "It sounds like you have convinced yourself that you are a saviour, that you are saving workers rather than throwing them overboard.
“The truth is you are a failure of a chief executive and most likely right now in a crowded field the most hated man in Britain.
“Your ethics are lying at the bottom of the seabed. How do you sleep at night?”
Hebblethwaite replied: "It was a very difficult decision. It was a decision that we implemented as actually the only option that in our opinion we had. It was a decision, as I reiterate, designed to save 1000s of jobs."
Bonus scheme
Lennon probed the CEO on the firm's bonus scheme, she asked: "On bonuses. Will you received for driving through this new way of doing business and when will you receive it?"
Hebblethwaite replied: "I can't tell you how far that is from any of our thinking.
"We are talking about saving a business and avoiding the irrecoverable loss of 1000s of jobs. My personal bonus schemes have got nothing to do with this. We're talking about saving a business. We're not talking about me and how much money I get paid."
Lennon asked again: "If you could just answer the question, are you expecting to receive a bonus in this financial year or in the next financial year?"
He replied: "No, I'm not expecting to receive a bonus. I have no idea what my bonus scheme looks like."
Pay cut
Natalie Don asked the P&O CEO about what he did personally to try and avoid the sacking of 800 workers.
She said: "I do understand that your salary is over £300,000, before bonuses.
"Can you confirm if you took a pay cut to protect the future of the business, or did you ensure that your own interests are protected to the detriment of those 800 people who were unlawfully sacked?"
Hebblethwaite replied: "I was promoted into this job and given a pay that is consistent the market and this particular job.
"I recognise that there are different levels of pay throughout an organisation but I can assure you that we have reduced the cost of our senior management by as much or more than we have other parts of the business."
Don asked for clarification, she said: "Can I just confirm in terms of yourself that that's a no."
He replied: "I have not received a pay cut."
'When will you resign?'
Monica Lennon accused Hebblethwaite and P&O of "corporate terrorism" and asked him when he would resign over the shambles.
She said: "You fired 800 experienced workers with an average service of 20 years. You sent in security guards with balaclavas and handcuffs. It is an extreme act of corporate terrorism.
"When will you resign?"
Hebblethwaite replied: “I want to be absolutely clear that there is a lot of press that is frankly inaccurate.
"So we did employ a security firm of professionals to keep our ships safe, but much, much more importantly, our people safe, at a very emotional time for them."
Failed to consult
Under questioning from Scottish Tory MSP Liam Kerr the CEO admitted the first failed to consult with workers and trade unions ahead of the sackings.
Kerr asked: "You accept that you wilfully, consciously and knowingly broke the law.
"You offended against UK employment law, a law which Parliament felt so important that it attached a protective award to it to try and mandate compliance.
"Doesn't that trouble you, as a company director, and make you question whether you are truly a fit and proper person and discharging your fiduciary duties to your company, if you are content simply to break one of the strongest laws that Parliament has sought to put in place."
Hebblethwaite replied: "To be clear we failed to consult and we are compensating people in full, absolutely as we should upfront.
"My duties as a director are to make this business viable going forward.
"I was faced with the option of a programme with change or the closure of the business.
"I think as a company director I took the only route available to me to preserve 1000s and 1000s of jobs."
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