Angry Corbyn Clashes With Sky News Reporter Over Train Row

A visibly angry Jeremy Corbyn has clashed with a Sky News reporter who asked him questions about his row with Virgin Trains.

The Labour leader took issue with Political Correspondent Darren McCaffrey quizzing him about the dispute, which was sparked by Mr Corbyn complaining he had to sit on the floor of a train because of "completely ram-packed" carriages.

The train operator took issue with this account and released CCTV images appearing to show Mr Corbyn walking past empty unreserved train seats on the service between London and Newcastle.

Virgin said it was "puzzled" by the suggestion Mr Corbyn was unable to find unreserved seats when he boarded the train because CCTV images appeared to show "they're right next to him".

Mr Corbyn, who was taking questions after delivering a speech on his plans for the NHS on Wednesday, initially refused to talk about the furore with McCaffrey, saying "we're discussing the NHS" and "can we have an NHS question please".

When pressed about his version of events, Mr Corbyn said: "I'm glad you have watched the CCTV so carefully.

"This is a really important issue this, absolutely crucial to the future of the whole nation and the NHS."

Mr Corbyn then revealed he walked past empty seats because he wanted two together so he could talk to his wife.

He said: "Let's get to the details of it. Yes I did walk through the train. Yes I did look for two empty seats together so I could sit down with my wife to talk to her. That wasn't possible.

"And so I went to the end of the train. The train manager, who was a very nice gentleman, came along and we had a chat about the problems of overcrowding and regulations on the trains.

"He said he would see what he could do after he'd already offered me an upgrade to first class which I'd declined.

"He then very kindly did find some seats and after 42 minutes I went back through the train to the seats that he'd allocated.

"We sat down there and we then conducted a lot of preparatory work for our visit to Newcastle (for a leadership hustings event)."

Sir Richard Branson, who co-owns Virgin Trains with Stagecoach, posted a link to the images on Twitter.

When asked by McCaffrey why the billionaire had got involved, Mr Corbyn replied: "I'm very pleased Richard Branson has been able to break off from his holiday to take this issue as seriously, with the importance it obviously deserves.

"I hope he's very well aware of our policy which is that train operating companies should become part of the public realm not the private sector."

The Information Commissioner's Office has confirmed it is investigating the release of the CCTV images by Virgin Trains.

A Virgin Trains spokesman said: "We haven't yet been approached by the Information Commissioner's Office, but will of course be happy to co-operate completely and answer any questions it has."

Mr Corbyn also condemned the use of the word "lunatic" by leadership rival Owen Smith, who appeared to use the term when describing Mr Corbyn - a claim the Pontypridd MP denied in an interview with Sky News.