NY- Hillary Clinton is to introduce legislation in the US which would block the take-over of P&O by Dubai Ports World.

The US senator for New York claims the deal poses a threat to national security because it would place operations at six major US ports under the control of the government of the United Arab Emirates, which owns Dubai Ports World.

“Our port security is too important to place in the hands of foreign governments,” said Mrs Clinton, who is backed by New Jersey senator Robert Menendez.

P&O shareholders have already voted to accept the £3.92 billion offer, which would hand over to DP World significant commercial operations at ports in New York, New Jersey, Baltimore, New Orleans, Miami and Philadelphia. The Committee on Foreign Investment in the US – an inter-agency panel that reviews the security implications of foreign takeovers of strategic assets – has already looked at the deal and raised no concerns.

Mrs Clinton’s legislation would prevent US ports from being owned by any foreign government, but much of the concern in this case arises because DP World is owned by the government of the UAE. The country was used to wire money to the September 11 hijackers, say US officials, though it has been a staunch ally of President Bush in his war on terror. DP World said yesterday that it had exactly the same security certifications as P&O.

Yet Mr Menendez said: “Our ports are the front lines of the war against terrorism. They are both vulnerable targets for attacks and venues for smuggling and human trafficking.” The Senate Banking Committee is to hold hearings next week.

A political row erupted when Chinese state-owned oil company CNOOC tried to buy the America’s Unocal last year, as it did when China’s Lenovo bought the PC arm of IBM two years ago.

US seaports handle 2 billion tons of freight a year.