Caught on camera, Jeremy Corbyn the first-class hypocrite
÷He says he was forced to sit on floor of ‘ram-packed’ train ÷Virgin hits back with CCTV of the Labour leader in a seat
JEREMY Corbyn’s credibility was in shreds last night after CCTV suggested he lied about having to sit on the floor of a train.
In a highly unusual move, Virgin Trains published images flatly contradicting his claim that there were no free seats.
The Labour leader, who boasts of his ‘straight-talking politics’, had told a documentary crew filming him on the floor that the ‘ram-packed’ service highlighted the need to renationalise the railways.
But security cameras show that only minutes earlier he had walked past empty – and unreserved – seats. And he can be seen taking one of them after the interview ended.
Rail Minister Paul Maynard accused Mr Corbyn of carrying out a dishonest stunt to advance his political agenda.
Will Quince, a Tory member of the Commons transport committee, said: ‘This makes Mr Corbyn look grossly hypocritical. His supporters like to paint him as a genuine man but this stunt is clearly not genuine.
‘There is no question lots of commuters are unable to get seats on trains at peak time. But what they want is action, rather than politicians trying to score points. I thought Mr Corbyn was better than this.’
Labour’s former deputy leader Harriet Harman said she was baffled by the incident. ‘There is a case for more public control or ownership of the railways, but you build that case on the forensic facts and figures not by sitting outside a toilet in a railway carriage,’ she added.
‘He’s got a campaign team – you would have thought they would have booked him a seat.’
Virgin’s decision to publish CCTV footage appears to have been authorised personally by co-owner Richard Branson. The billionaire posted images on his own Twitter feed, saying Mr Corbyn walked past empty, unreserved seats.
Labour spokesmen insisted he had been unable to find unreserved seats when he boarded the 11am London Kings Cross to Newcastle service on August 11.
But a CCTV picture at 11.07am showed him walking through coach H, in which there appeared to be at least ten empty, unreserved seats. He was spotted a minute later as he walked through coach F, past numerous seats that had reservation tickets but were empty.
Mr Corbyn could then be seen walking to the end of the train where he sat on the corridor floor.
At 11.29am he filmed a short interview later published in the Labour-supporting Guardian newspaper. In it he said: ‘This is a problem that many passengers face every day, commuters and longdistance travellers. Today this train is completely ram-packed.’
At 11.43am, Mr Corbyn was caught on CCTV again, this time taking a seat back in coach H.
A spokesman for Virgin Trains said: ‘We have to take issue with the idea Mr Corbyn wasn’t able to be seated on the service, as this clearly wasn’t the case.’
In a statement last night, a spokesman for Mr Corbyn insisted he had not lied, saying: ‘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 across Britain will have been in similar situations on overcrowded, expensive trains. That is why our policy to bring the trains back into public ownership, as part of a plan to rebuild and transform Britain, is so popular with passengers and rail workers.’
A Labour source told the Guardian that Mr Corbyn’s recollection was that there were no vacant pairs of seats, and he wanted to sit next to his wife, Laura, for the journey.
The source said Mr Corbyn rejected the offer of a complimentary upgrade to first class.
Virgin Trains confirmed two passengers were moved to first class so Mr Corbyn could sit next to his aide. A spokesman added: ‘We’d encourage Jeremy to book ahead next time he travels with us. We look forward to welcoming him.’
Keren Harrison, 45, chatted to the Labour leader when she saw him sitting on the floor.
Mrs Harrison, who is not a supporter of the party, said: ‘I spoke to him then the staff came over and said, “We’ll try and find you some seats, sir”. I don’t know if they would have done it for any other passenger – and off they went before coming back and offering him a seat in first class.’
In a jibe on Twitter, Mr Corbyn’s leadership rival Owen Smith said: ‘My campaign remains on track. Proud to be genuinely standing up for ordinary people.’
The inconvenient footage is unlikely to cost Mr Corbyn the support of militant rail workers bringing misery to millions.
The RMT union, which was in the wilderness for years under New Labour, is now firmly backing his stance on nationalisation and the right to strike.
It is at the centre of the chaos on the Southern network, where passengers have been subjected to strikes and disruption for months.
Earlier this month, Mr Corbyn gave his backing to the strikers.
‘Train staff tried to help him find seats ’ ‘Grossly hypocritical’
JEREMY Corbyn could have filmed himself on almost any rush-hour service to illustrate his point that Britain’s trains are overcrowded. Instead, he squatted on the floor in a Virgin train with plenty of empty seats.
How typical of a politician that even when there is an honest point to be made, he cannot resist making it dishonestly. So much for his supporters’ claim that he is different.