Jeremy Corbyn's top aide reignites Virgin row by attacking rail boss Richard Branson as a 'tax exile'
Campaign Director Sam Tarry said Mr Branson was 'laughing all the way to the bank'
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Your support makes all the difference.The row over whether Jeremy Corbyn was forced to sit on the floor during a Virgin Trains journey has flared up after his campaign director accused Richard Branson of “laughing all the way to the bank” with British taxpayers’ money.
Sam Tarry branded rail tycoon Mr Branson a “tax exile” and claimed his company had made millions with the help of government subsidies.
The dispute between Virgin and Mr Corbyn began when the Labour leader released a video of himself on the floor of a “ram-packed” train, claiming it showed the need for nationalisation.
The company hit back by releasing CCTV stills revealing Mr Corbyn eventually found a seat.
Responding on BBC radio, Mr Corbyn’s Campaign Director Sam Tarry said the Labour Leader had sat on the floor of the East Coast service for 45 minutes, but accepted he had then found somewhere.
He went on: “The bigger story here is quite astonishing, that a tax exile of more than ten years decides to lay into and make a political intervention, which is essentially what this is, on social media, in a very public way.
“I think it’s quite clear, Richard Branson is literally laughing all the way to the bank at the British taxpayers’ expense.
“Let’s be clear about this on exactly what’s going on here. No train operating company in this country would be able to actually turn a profit without the vast subsidies of British taxpayers.
“This guy is a tax exile. In the last year this chap has made around about £53 million direct from the taxpayer, and that’s profit.”
After releasing the CCTV images yesterday a Virgin spokesperson, said: “We have to take issue with the idea that Mr Corbyn wasn’t able to be seated on the service, as this clearly wasn’t the case.
"We’d encourage Jeremy to book ahead next time he travels with us, both to reserve a seat and to ensure he gets our lowest fares, and we look forward to welcoming him onboard again.”
After they released the footage several passengers posted comments on Twitter backing Mr Corbyn’s version of events.
The original video of Mr Corbyn showed him sitting in a corner on the floor, before saying: “Today this train is completely ram-packed. The staff on this train are absolutely brilliant, working really hard to help everybody.
“This is a problem that many passengers face every day on the trains – commuters and long-distance travellers.
“The reality is there’s not enough trains, we need more of them, and they’re also incredibly expensive. Isn’t that a good case for public ownership?”
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