Miliband misleads on rail fares and must apologise

Conservative Party Co-Chairman Sayeeda Warsi has asked Ed Miliband to set the record straight after his misleading comments on rail fares during Prime Minister's Questions.

Baroness Warsi wrote to the Labour Leader pointing out that the Labour government signed a binding legal agreement to bring back the 'flex' rail fares policy - meaning that train companies would have the power to raise fares to a higher level from January last year.

The agreement signed by Labour explicitly states that: "From 00.00 on 1 January 2011 [the decision to end the rail fares 'flex'] shall be reversed". So Ed Miliband's claim today that it was the Coalition Government which "reversed" the decision is incorrect.

Commenting, Conservative Party Co-Chair Baroness Warsi said:

"Ed Miliband must have known that Ministers he sat in Government with had signed an agreement with the rail companies that explicitly reversed the changes it made on 1 January 2011.

"Now that the evidence is there in black and white for all to see, Ed Miliband should correct the record and apologise to Parliament.

"Either he was misleading the House or he simply didn't do his homework."