Virgin Trains no longer selling Daily Mail on west coast routes due to staff concerns over editorial views
Virgin Trains will no longer stock the Daily Mail after describing it as "not at all compatible" with the travel company's brand and beliefs.
The newspaper hit back by accusing Virgin on censorship, after it made the decision to stop offering out the Mail in November due to staff concerns over its editorial position on immigration, LGBT rights and unemployment.
Virgin Trains told the Daily Mail they were no longer selling the paper as a space saving measure on their west coast fleet.
A spokesman for Virgin Trains said: "We regularly review the products we have on sale for customers in the shop onboard our west coast trains and after listening to feedback from our people, we decided in November 2017 that we would no longer stock copies of the Daily Mail.
"When we stocked the Daily Mail onboard, we sold one copy for every four trains."
In an internal note to staff within its West Coast business, Virgin Trains wrote: "Different viewpoints are often valuable, and it's certainly true that we choose to take our news from different sources depending on our view of the world.
"Thousands of people choose to read The Daily Mail every day.
"But, from Sunday 26 November, they will no longer be reading it courtesy of VT.
"There's been considerable concern raised by colleagues about The Daily Mail's editorial position on issues such as immigration, LGBT rights and unemployment.
"After due consideration, we've decided that this particular paper is not at all compatible with the VT brand and our beliefs.
"We will continue to offer The Times to customers, but we won't be stocking the Daily Mail for sale or as a giveaway.
"This won't suit all of our customers or all of our people, it's certain to draw some criticism.
"But we've listened to many colleagues over the last few months, and we feel that this is the right move to take. #vtnews"
A spokesman for the right-wing paper said: "It is disgraceful that, at a time of massive customer dissatisfaction over ever-increasing rail fares, and after the taxpayer was forced to bail out Virgin's East Coast mainline franchise, a decision strongly criticised by the Mail, that Virgin Trains should now announce that for political reasons it is censoring the choice of newspapers it offers to passengers.
"It is equally rich that Virgin chose to launch this attack on free speech in the Aslef trade union journal.
"For the record Virgin used to sell only 70 Daily Mails a day.
"They informed us last November that to save space, they were restricting sales to just three newspapers: the Mirror, FT and Times.
"They gave no other reason, but it may be no coincidence that all those titles, like Virgin owner Sir Richard Branson, are pro-Remain."