Keir Starmer has declined to comment on reports a £1bn investment in the UK has been jeopardised by ministers’ criticism of the company behind it. As PA Media says, Dubai-based DP World is reported to have been planning to announce a major investment in the UK at the government’s International Investment Summit next Monday. But, according to Sky News, that investment is now under review after deputy prime minister Angela Rayner and transport secretary Louise Haigh repeated criticism of P&O Ferries, which is owned by DP World. P&O Ferries was criticised by politicians from both main parties in March 2022 when it suddenly sacked 800 British seafarers and replaced them with cheaper, mainly overseas, staff, saying it was necessary to stave off bankruptcy. On Wednesday, Rayner and Haigh introduced legislation to prevent similar actions, with Haigh describing P&O Ferries as “cowboy operators” and Rayner saying the incident had been “an outrageous example of manipulation by an employer”. Today Sky News reported DP World chairman, Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, ordered Monday’s announcement to be cancelled and the planned investment in the company’s London Gateway port to be reviewed. Asked about the row on Friday, Starmer declined to answer directly, saying there had been “five or six huge investments in the UK” announced in the past four weeks. He said: We’ve got a massive investment summit coming up on Monday where leading investors from across the globe are all coming to the UK. This is very, very good for the country, very, very good for the future of jobs, it’s just the sort of change that we need to see. Starmer has claimed that today’s inaugural council of nations and regions meeting will help bring investment to the UK. After the meeting in Edinburgh, asked about the non-attendance of Sue Gray, his new envoy for nations and regions, Starmer replied: For everybody listening and watching this, who’s concerned to know, is there going to be investment in my region? Are there going to be jobs where I live? The answer is, today, we’ve got a long way down the road of collaborating to that end. Rhuan ap Iorwerth, the Plaid Cymru leader, has told his party’s conference in Cardiff that Wales cannot afford another 25 years of Labour. In his keynote speech, he said: Labour’s letting down its own traditional supporters, so many of whom are already embracing Plaid Cymru’s vision. Labour’s failing them, failing Wales and failing to understand what it takes to turn things around. We can win by demonstrating we are better than this, we’re bolder and not the bystanders that this government have become. Be in no doubt – we can win at the ballot box and that must be our goal. This isn’t about winning for us – it’s about winning for Wales. Robert Jenrick, one of the two Tory leadership candidates left in the contest, has denied telling Tory MPs in private that, if he wins, he will drop his shift to the right and pivot back to the centre. (See 9.52am.) Pressure is growing on Labour to sack John Woodcock as the government’s adviser on extremism after civil society campaigners filed official complaints alleging multiple conflicts of interest.