Privatisation proposal causes storm at port
A STORM erupted last night over the future of one of the UK's leading ports when union leaders said allowing it to fall into private ownership would be "disastrous."
Unite said privatisation plans at Dover in Kent would unleash the biggest "revolution" in the corporate structure of the port in more than 400 years.
A Unite officer said: "The proposed privatisation of Dover is against the national interest. It is a disastrous idea and should proceed no further. The UK is an island nation. We need a first class sea port like Dover to be in public hands. There is simply too much at stake to leave the running of this vital link to Europe in the hands of those who will milk this national treasure for profits at the expense of the travelling public and British commerce."
But the Port of Dover hit back, saying the union had failed to grasp the driving force behind the "voluntary privatisation" scheme.