He said the Virgin footage of Mr Corbyn sitting in a seat was from after the Labour leader had filmed his video message on the floor, once the packed train had emptied out. Could there be a better case for taking the railways back into public ownership?
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The freaky 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. It shows seats clearly marked as reserved and, therefore, unavailable.
The row, swiftly dubbed #traingate on Twitter, saw Virgin supremo Sir Richard Branson tweet a link to the footage saying: “Mr Corbyn & team walked past empty unreserved seats then filmed claim train was “ram-packed”.
According to the BBC, Mr Corbyn found a seat in a free carriage and sat for the rest of the journey following the filming.
His campaign team said he was unable to find unreserved seats for his group, which included aide Emma Rees and his wife Laura Alvarez, s o he sat with other passengers in the corridor who were also unable to secure a seat.
They show him walking through a carriage with empty seats, just as the train was leaving the station – before he made the video clip, which was later published by the Guardian.
“I was on said train and it was very busy!” she said.
“The reality is there are not enough trains, we need more of them – and they’re also incredibly expensive”, he said.
The Islington MP – who on Thursday is in Glasgow for another hustings event – was subsequently praised for sticking to his principles after it was reported he had refused the offer of a first class ticket and decided, instead, to sit on the floor.
Mr Corbyn was travelling to Gateshead to debate Labour leader challenger Smith.
A Virgin Trains spokesperson said they would encourage Mr Corbyn to “book ahead” next time to reserve a seat – but they look forward to welcoming him on board again.
In a statement issued with the CCTV images, a Virgin Trains spokesman said: “Our people deliver first-rate customer service day after day and we’d like to thank Jeremy Corbyn for highlighting this with the media”.
He added: “Passengers across Britain will have been in similar situations on overcrowded, expensive trains”.
However, the train company has issued a response to Corbyn’s claims of over-capacity today in a statement, along with CCTV images from the train, seeking to contradict his claim that the service was full.
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On Twitter, Mr Smith said his campaign remained “on track” and that he was “proud to be genuinely standing up for ordinary people”.
