Jeremy Corbyn accused of changing his story in Virgin train row by Labour leadership rival Owen Smith

Mr Smith said the CCTV evidence is clear that there were seats available on the train for Mr Corbyn to sit on

Labour leadership contender Owen Smith has accused rival Jeremy Corbyn of changing his story in the row over whether he was forced to sit on the floor of a “ram-packed” Virgin train.

Asked whether he thought Mr Corbyn was lying when he claimed he could not find a seat on the service, Mr Smith said: “The evidence is there on the CCTV footage, obviously Jeremy did have a seat.”

A dispute between Virgin and Mr Corbyn erupted when the Labour Leader released a video of himself on the floor of what he called a “ram-packed” train, claiming it showed the need for nationalisation.

But the company hit back by releasing CCTV stills revealing Mr Corbyn eventually found a seat.

Mr Smith told BBC radio: “I think the evidence is there on the CCTV footage, obviously Jeremy did have a seat and went to sit on the floor in order to make a point about overcrowding.”

Mr Smith, who will face his rival in a hustings tomorrow night, said Mr Corbyn’s point about overcrowded trains was “legitimate”.

But when asked whether he believed Mr Corbyn’s story he said: “I’m not quite sure what the Corbyn version of events is, because I think it changed a couple of times yesterday.

“But what is clear from the footage I’ve seen was 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 purpose of the video.”

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.

Mr Tarry went on to accuse Virgin boss Richard Branson of being a “tax exile” who was “laughing all the way to the bank” having made a profit with the help of subsidies from British taxpayers.