Jeremy Corbyn and Sir Richard Branson clash in bitter train seats row

Jeremy Corbyn appeared to admit today that there were empty seats on a train he claimed had been so “ram-packed” that he had been forced to sit on the floor.

Jeremy Corbyn tried to direct attention away from the “traingate” scandal after CCTV footage revealed he had taken a seat on a “ram-packed” train.

Mr Corbyn then apparently found an unreserved seat to sit in as he travelled on the three-hour 11am Virgin Trains service from London King’s Cross to Newcastle on August 11.

He posted additional photos and videos of other passengers sitting on the floor and Mr Corbyn walking through the crowded train.

But the leader of Britain’s Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn, may be ruing the day he chose to catch the 11am train from London to Newcastle as he fends off accusations he staged a photo in an attempt to look like a hard-pressed commuter.

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”.

But the rail operator insists there were seats available on the train.

One of Labour’s policies is to take the whole of Britain’s railways, which are now franchised out to private companies as in Melbourne, back into full public ownership. “And Jeremy and the team he was travelling with were offered the seats by a very helpful member of staff”.

I was talking about me, ‘ he said after Twitter users started posting messages using #lunaticgate.

“What is clear from the footage I’ve seen is that he had a seat on the train and there were seats on the train and he chose to sit on the floor for the purposes of the video”, Smith told the BBC.

The Welsh MP, who is challenging Jeremy Corbyn for leadership of the party, pledged that as Labour leader the party would block any attempt to invoke Article 50 until the public were promised a say on any final Brexit deal.

He said: “I’m sick and exhausted of debate in this party right now that paints some people who support Jeremy as a sort of purest of the pure, principle filled and the rest of us who are saying “we’ve got to win Jeremy, and we’re anxious we’re at a lower ebb than we’ve been since 1982″ are somehow sell-outs or people who are willing to trade our principles, compromise them for power – rubbish”.

A Virgin Trains spokesperson 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”.

Mr Corbyn was immediately the subject of many jibes on social media under the hashtag #traingate.

While he admitted that Corbyn did have a seat in the end, Tarry went on to claim that the bigger issue at hand was actually Branson – the tax exile.