Associated British Ports (ABP), a major employer across the South East, received good news recently when the Department of Transport (DoT) said that a rival ports operator in Liverpool could not upgrade its facilities to match those in Southampton.

The news means that the Port of Southampton (right) remains one of just a handful of ports in the UK capable of handling ‘turnaround calls’, where a cruise ship starts or finishes.

ABP approached me to help them lobby against the Liverpool upgrade. I found their argument compelling: that the development of ‘turnaround’ facilities at the Liverpool port should not occur before £21 million of public funds – almost half of which came from the European Union – used to build the Liverpool port in 2007 were repaid.

I contacted the European Commission, DoT and my colleague and Transport Minister Paul Clark to explain the situation and voice my view that a distortion of competition through public funds should not be allowed.

The DoT agreed, ruling in December 2009 that an upgrade of the Liverpool port would be unfair. This is really good news for ABP and Southampton. It means that visitors from around the UK and the world will continue to embark on their fabulous holidays from the city (after having spent a bit of money in its many wonderful hotels and restaurants of course!).