The Virgin statement said that, as well as unreserved seats, Mr Corbyn walked past seats that were reserved but not taken, meaning they were available for other passengers to use.
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She confirmed the train was packed despite the footage seemingly showing there were seats available. He claimed that, “This is a problem that many passengers face every day on the trains, commuters and long distance travellers”.
The weird row led to Virgin Trains’ communications department releasing a lengthy statement refuting Mr Corbyn’s claims, as well as CCTV images of the leader of the opposition as evidence that seating was available.
The Transport Salaried Staff’s Association Union’s general-secretary Manuel Cortes accused Virgin of being disingenuous for releasing video “that does not show empty seats. It shows seats clearly marked as reserved and, therefore, unavailable”.
“But he won the London mayoralty, as others have pointed out, by standing on a Labour platform under the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn, backed by the huge numbers who have joined our party to support Jeremy and now campaign for Labour”, Corbyn’s campaign spokesman said.
“The reality is there are not enough trains, we need more of them – and they’re also incredibly expensive”, he said.
Mr Smith also said the booing of Mr Khan by Corbyn supporters shows how low the party has sunk. “Isn’t that a good case for public ownership?” Minutes after filming the video, he took up a seat for the remaining journey of his trip from London to Newcastle.
Mr Corbyn made the journey on August 11th, and shot a video of himself sitting on the floor of the carriage, complaining the train was too full for him to get a seat.
Issuing further market insight William Hill Political Spokesperson Graham Sharpe commented: ‘Ninety-five per cent of all the money bet on the outcome is for Corbyn, including one bet of £60,000 in a Durham betting shop, but Mr Khan’s comments have boosted Mr Smith’s chances’. “I think a lot of people will be quite let down by that”, he said.
After the photo of Corbyn on the floor went viral, he was praised for reportedly refusing a first-class ticket and sitting on the floor instead.
Corbyn, however, remains the favourite as the 67-year-old retains the backing of most trade unions and many grassroots supporters who signed up last year to ensure his victory.
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Citing a campaign she was preparing based on freedom of information requests on library opening hours, Ms Onwurah said it was “impossible to launch a Labour opposition campaign to protect libraries when no one knew if they were part of my brief or not”.
