Virgin Trains halts Daily Mail ban as Branson calls for freedom of choice

 Virgin Trains has lifted its ban on selling The Daily Mail, as Sir Richard Branson said the move amounted to censorship.

The train operator originally said it had made the decision to stop selling the newspaper in November, after “considerable concern” was raised by colleagues about the newspaper’s position on issues such as LGBT rights, immigration and unemployment.

However, the Virgin Group boss has distanced himself from the move, saying neither he nor Brian Souter, the chairman of Stagecoach which owns a 49 per cent stake in Virgin Trains, were aware of the decision before reading about it in media reports.

“It was not part of some grand campaign or at my behest,” Sir Richard said in a statement yesterday.

“Brian and I agree that we must not ever be seen to be censoring what our customers read and influencing their freedom of choice. Nor must we be seen to be moralising on behalf of others. Instead, we should stand up for the values we hold dear and defend them publicly, as I have done with The Mail on many issues over the years.

“So, Brian and I have instructed our team at Virgin Trains to reconsider this decision and re-stock The Daily Mail while they undertake a full review of their sales policy, making clear that this policy should not single out individual media titles.”