The Tories hit out at the Labour Government after its first major investment summit suffered an embarrassing blow.

P&O Ferries owner DP World pulled a planned announcement of £1 billion investment in its London Gateway container port following criticism by Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner and Transport Secretary Louise Haigh.

The investment was due to be unveiled at the flagship summit in London on Monday where Sir Keir Starmer will pitch the UK as “open for business” as part of his bid to drive growth into the country.

But DP World boss Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem will no longer attend the event after Ms Rayner and Ms Haigh called P&O Ferries “unscrupulous” and “exploitative”.

The shipping company sparked controversy in 2022 when it sacked 800 employees and replaced them with cheaper overseas agency staff.

A DP World spokesperson confirmed that the planned investment was now under review.

Shadow Business and Trade Secretary Kevin Hollinrake said: “On the eve of this much vaunted inward investment event, this is a body blow for the Government and shows that Labour Cabinet ministers have never been in business, don’t understand business and don’t know how to talk to business. They just haven’t got a clue.

“Just 100 days in, new investment should be rolling in, not being scared off because of anti-business statements or worries about the impact of Labour’s employment and tax policies.”

Ms Haigh and Ms Rayner made the comments on Wednesday in relation to the Government’s plans to strengthen workers’ rights.

In another blunder, the Government has referred itself to the data protection watchdog after accidentally sharing the email address of one of the world’s richest men in the run-up to the investment summit.

The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) apologised for the “human error” after officials sent round a message about the event which displayed the contact details of Bernard Arnault and other business leaders.

A DBT spokesperson said: “We take data protection very seriously, and we have referred this issue to the Information Commissioner’s Office.”