The prime minister has pledged to support the cruise industry’s recovery from the coronavirus pandemic “in any way that we can”.
At today’s daily coronavirus briefing, Boris Johnson was asked by a journalist based in Southampton about what the government was doing to protect jobs in the sector.
Carnival UK, parent company of P&O Cruises, is currently undergoing a consultation through which about 500 jobs are at risk – many of which would be based in the port city.
In response, Johnson said: “Like all industries, the cruise industry is going to have to go through – in the short-term at least – a period of self-reinvention to make sure it is Covid-secure.
“I have no doubt that it can do it. It’s a great British sector and we will support it in any way we can.”