Liverpool fans planning their journeys to Paris for the Champions League final have been urged to avoid using one particular travel firm.
A number of the city's political leaders have called on Reds fans to boycott P&O Ferries when planning their journeys to watch their team take on Real Madrid in the final of Europe's top competition at the Stade de France on Saturday May 28. P&O Ferries caused shock and outrage across the country in March when the company suddenly and without warning sacked 800 of its staff, replacing them with badly paid agency workers.
The move sparked widespread protests in port cities like Liverpool, where the firm operate from.
READ MORE: P&O scraps all ferry services telling customers 'book with another operator'
After Liverpool booked their place in the Paris final with a win over Spanish side Villareal on Tuesday night, Reds fan and West Derby MP Ian Byrne urged all his fellow supporters not to use the company, which continues to run ferries between Dover and Calais.
He tweeted: "Can I ask that all the Reds who are travelling to Paris to watch the mighty Reds on the 28th May boycott P&O Ferries & use other alternatives following the savage sacking of 800 seafarers & show the solidarity we are famed for."
Fellow Liverpool MP Dan Carden, who represents Liverpool Walton where LFC are based, agreed. He retweeted Mr Byrne and simply added: "#BoycottPandOFerries."
Liverpool City Region Mayor Steve Rotheram has also supported the boycott call. He responded to a tweet from GMB union member Neil Smith urging LFC supporters not to use P&O Ferries by stating 'is correct.'
The company has had a number of issues since it made the decision to suddenly sack 800 staff members. This week it was reported that one of its ferries, the Pride of Kent, had failed an inspection by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency for the third time.
The firm used to have four ferries operating on the Dover-Calais route, but only one has been cleared to resume passenger services since the day the decision was taken to sack staff members and replace them with cheaper agency workers.
The ferry firm operated a reduced timetable on Tuesday, with a normal timetable resuming on Wednesday. P&O's passenger services have already resumed on three other UK routes, which are between Liverpool and Dublin, between Cairnryan, Scotland and Larne, Northern Ireland; and between Hull and Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
