The absolutely callous sacking by P&O Ferries of more than 800 UK workers has rightly created a storm of outrage.
But amidst all the calls for heads to roll and action to be taken, there is one huge, burning question to be answered.
What on earth made ferries boss Peter Hebblethwaite think his company could deliberately break the law and get away with it?
So much so that he sat in front of a panel of MPs and basically shrugged when accused of behaving like a gangster with an air of a man thinking “yeah, so, what are you going to do about it?”
Again, where did he get the idea from that laws are for other people and can be broken at will if they don’t suit you or get in the way of what you want to do?
The zeitgeist of our age… if you are powerful enough you can do what you like with impunity.”
Answers on a postcard to Number 10 Downing Street, please.
After all, this is the very epicentre of breaking the law by having gatherings and parties in breach of lockdown rules, then simply obfuscating in a storm of ifs, buts and whatabootery until the news cycle moves on.
Took the view that laws are for the obedience of oiks and not for them
However, some of us haven’t forgotten what they did. It is still, I have no doubt, very sharp in the memory of people who had loved ones die alone because the law said they couldn’t be there to comfort them.
Meanwhile, Downing Street staff were doing booze runs to the offie with a suitcase.
And still nothing has happened, no one has been held to account, not least the person who should be. The man who heads up the Westminster Government and the Conservative Party who clearly took the view that laws are for the obedience of oiks and not for them to worry their pretty heads about.
P&O Ferries actions are simply big business putting into practice the zeitgeist of our age… if you are powerful enough you can do what you like with impunity.
The message that sends out is toxic and has a corroding effect on our society.
We all must follow the rules – including those at the top
Our way of life is built on the bedrock that no one is above the law. We all need to follow the rules or there will be consequences.
That breaks down when those who hold the levers of power demonstrate there is one law for us and quite another for them.
It raises the question of why should anyone follow rules they don’t like, from wearing a mask indoors, to keeping to the speed limit to not sacking your workforce without consultation.
It’s a path that we don’t want to even contemplate going down.
Which is why Mr Hebblethwaite must at the very least lose his job if not be disqualified as a director not just of P&O but any company.
One of those calling for the ferries boss to quit for his illegal action is none other than Boris Johnson Esq. The irony is not lost.
So when the reckoning for Partygate comes, and come it will, the Prime Minister must follow his own advice, accept the consequences and resign.
Scott Begbie is entertainment editor for The Press & Journal and Evening Express
