Corbyn and Branson go to war over Traingate...
Corbyn and Branson at war as Virgin says Jez sat on floor after passing empty seats
VIRGIN Trains boss Richard Branson says Jeremy Corbyn ignored empty seats before being filmed sitting on the floor of a “packed” service.
JEREMY Corbyn is at war with Sir Richard Branson after the Virgin boss effectively accused him of fibbing about overcrowded trains.
The Labour leader was filmed sitting on the floor in the vestibule of a Virgin Trains service from London to Newcastle. Mr Corbyn said it was “completely ram-packed” as he made the case for re-nationalising the railways. But CCTV footage released by Virgin yesterday showed Mr Corbyn and his aides walking past empty, unreserved seats before he sat on the floor at the far end of the train. After half an hour, he takes an empty seat.
Branson personally tweeted the pictures and said: “Mr Corbyn & team walked past empty unreserved seats then filmed claim train was ‘ram-packed’.”
However, a spokesman for Mr Corbyn claimed there had been “luggage or small children” on the vacant seats and pointed out other passengers had also been forced to sit in the vestibule.
He said: “When Jeremy boarded the train he was unable to find unreserved seats, so he sat with other passengers in the corridor who were also unable to find a seat.
“Later in the journey, seats became available after a family were upgraded to first class, and Jeremy and the team he was travelling with were offered the seats by a very helpful member of staff. Passengers will have been in similar situations on overcrowded, expensive trains.
“That is why our policy to bring the trains back into public ownership is so popular with passengers and rail workers.”
The row comes just as ballot papers are sent out for the Labour leadership contest.
Rival Owen Smith joked on Twitter: “My campaign remains on track. Proud to be genuinely standing up for ordinary people.” The clip was filmed by a freelance journalist travelling with Mr Corbyn on August 11 as he headed for a hustings in Gateshead.
Sitting on the floor with a pile of magazines, Mr Corbyn told the camera: “This is a problem that many passengers face every day. Today this train is completely rampacked. The staff are absolutely brilliant, working really hard to help everybody.
“The reality is there are not enough
Today this train is ram-packed. There are not enough trains, we need more of them and they’re also incredibly expensive. Isn’t that a case for public ownership?” – JEREMY CORBYN