A major train operator has released CCTV images of Jeremy Corbyn walking past empty seats before it said he filmed himself sitting on the floor.
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In his video, Corbyn praises the “absolutely brilliant” staff on the train.
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.
“My promise to the party is that I will not ignore conference, I will bind myself to the decisions made by conference about party policy”, Smith said at his speech in Ely Valley miners’ welfare club in Porth, south Wales.
While Mr Corbyn is favourite to win the leadership contest because of strong support from thousands of members who voted for him a year ago, most Labour lawmakers say his left-wing views leave the party with little chance of winning power. Not for Mr Corbyn the temptation to pull rank as Leader of the Opposition and demand a seat or, heaven forfend, travel First Class.
The video of the him on the floor was reportedly shot by freelance filmmaker Yannis Mendez, who was following the Islington North MP during his campaign.
Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale has said the UK Labour leadership should not just be about who has the greatest support of party members, as she backed Owen Smith to replace Jeremy Corbyn.
But, alas, while Jez was sitting on the floor complaining about the company and hailing the merits of public ownership, there were vacant seats.
“The reality is there’s not enough trains, we need more of them, and they’re also incredibly expensive”.
However, there are some people sticking up for Corbyn.
He also sent footage of the Labour leader walking through a packed carriage.
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”.
The politician was travelling on the three-hour Virgin Trains service on 11 August for a leadership hustings in Gateshead. “Others were sat in the aisles too!”
Keren Harrison, a woman who was on the train and took pictures with Corbyn that morning reinforced his story on Twitter however.
But rail executives say he was captured on CCTV walking past available seats – before he was able to secure a pew two hours before end of the journey. “I agreed strongly with the anti-austerity logic underpinning his economic vision, and felt that he had a long record of standing up on issues of human rights and civil liberties”. He hadn’t managed to find a seat in the whole of the train.
In the January reshuffle he gave half the job to Debbonaire, with both women claiming that he omitted to tell either of them and when he realised what he had done, he gave the role back to Onwurah, without telling Thangam. It was totally overcrowded.
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In a bid to “clarify” Mr Corbyn’s claims of a “ram-packed” service, a statement was released by Virgin today.
