Richard Branson tells Virgin Trains to re-stock the rightwing UK newspaper it banned

By Lucy Handley

Richard Branson has told staff at his Virgin Trains franchise to start selling U.K. newspaper the Daily Mail again, after the title was removed because of employee concerns over its reporting on immigration, LGBT rights and unemployment.

In November, a Virgin Trains memo said that the rightwing newspaper was “ not compatible “ with the brand’s beliefs and it was removed from trains operating on its West Coast route, which runs from southern England to Wales, the West Midlands and Scotland.

But writing on his blog on Monday, Branson said the removal of the Daily Mail amounted to censorship, adding that he and Brian Souter, chairman of Stagecoach, which operates the rail service with Virgin Group, had instructed staff to re-stock the paper.

“Brian and I agree that we must not ever be seen to be censoring what our customers read and influencing their freedom of choice,” Branson wrote. “Nor must we be seen to be moralising on behalf of others. Instead, we should stand up for the values we hold dear and defend them publicly, as I have done with the Mail on many issues over the years.”

Branson added that he and Souter had not been aware of the decision to remove the newspaper from trains until they read media reports. “Freedom of speech, freedom of choice and tolerance for differing views are the core principles of any free and open society,” he said.