Newsnight host Emily Maitlis has been hounded for letting her dog sleep on a seat on packed train.
The presenter and journalist, 48, was seen travelling with her whippet, Moody, on a busy Great Western train to London Paddington this afternoon.
There were few empty seats but she let her dog curl up next to her. Other paying passengers had to look elsewhere for a place to sit.
A witness said: “I was really surprised to see the dog on the seat. There wasn’t even a mat or newspaper underneath it.
“For someone who is very much in the public eye, who holds politicians to account, I would have expected her to behave better.
“When I boarded the train it was really busy. A lady was looking for a seat and ended up sitting behind Emily and not on a seat with a table, where there is more room.
“Some people chose to stand, as there were few spare seats. It shows a lack of respect for other passengers to feel it appropriate for dogs to sit on seats meant for passengers.
“It’s a question of courtesy and consideration for others. The dog should have been on the floor. It could have been dirty or could have had ticks or fleas.” The witness, going from Reading, Berks to London, said Maitlis’s dog slept on the Penzance to London service for at least 25 minutes before Paddington.
Last week, Maitlis, one of Britain’s most respected interviewers, was criticised over her handling of the televised Tory leadership debate with hundreds of BBC viewers accusing her of losing control of the candidates and failing to get answers.
Bruce Williamson, of the Railfuture campaign, said expensive train fares mean “people who have paid for a ticket must come first”.
He added: “I’m surprised a conductor didn’t say something about it. I’m a dog lover, but dogs on trains are essentially luggage and second-class citizens to humans. Seats should be reserved for first and foremost for humans.
“It just highlights the level of overcrowding on our railways and the shortage of seats.”
A railway passenger group said Maitlis broke one of the network operators rules.
Fraser Pithie, of the Campaign for Rail, said: “The rules do not give animals any right to take up seats. Dogs must remain on the floor. Even guide dogs are not allowed on seats. A train guard should have spoken to her.”
A spokesman from Great Western confirmed the company does allow people to bring animals on their trains but said they are never allowed on seats.
National Rail conditions say: “Animals are not allowed on seats in any circumstances” and warn a charge could be made if animals occupy seats.
In a statement, Maitlis said: “There was no one without a seat looking to sit down.
“The dog was under the table for the first three hours of the journey whilst four people sat down at it. He came on to the seat for the last 17 minutes of the journey when the seat next to me became free.”
