Ridiculous ! This is hard earned tax payer's money - NOT to be used to prop up a failure !

We bail out the bankers and billionaire businessmen while people die in hospital car parks British establishment rotten to the core!!

Branson doesn't need tax payers money he has millions laying around let him bail his own company out

so the nhs makes a mistake in a bid and is forced to compensate Branson, He makes a pigs ear of a rail franchise and guess what? The taxpayer forks out all over again! The stench of the old boy network "corruption" hangs around this one like a hungry dog around a food bowl!

Absolutely disgusting. East Coast made a profit for goodness sake. The only thing Brandon is good at is lining his own pocket

Collection bucket?? More like a sick bucket I'm afraid.

NHS in crisis and the Government are chucking good money after bad. Where are they finding the multi billions to waste on HS2 when the existing network needs upgrading?

Now we can all see how much "better" privatisation is, as compared to public service! BEWARE! He + his cronies in the govt are doing THE SAME to the Health Service!

Appalled that he can repeatedly fail - then come back for a refund. We need to stop our money being used to fund his financial failures in NHS, Railway franchises etc. Want to hear it loud and clear from Labour that if elected they will stop bankrolling these privateers.

Can some one show financially what the cost difference is between not for profit and Branson?

Poor old Branson. He's always getting picked on. It's hard being a multi-billionaire. I know he seldom invests his own money into his "enterprises" but entrepreneurs like him need all they money they can get their hands on because he's only motivated by the good he can do for the r best of us. Not really: I just feel mischievous. I once heard that he rationed the number of lightbulbs used on West Coast Main Line trains: look after the pence and the pounds will look after themselves.

Chris Grayling you absolute incompetent excuse of a person supposed to be representing the U.K people! This is a total disgrace and cannot be allowed to happen. You lot of so called MP's are abusing our taxes. Just remember that us minions and by that I mean the HARD WORKING people of this country are the ones who are the backbone of taxes in the coffers - the taxes you are repeatedly abusing by dishing out to greedy multi millionaires/billionaires running our companies. If it was not for the real workers of this country Branson and the rest of the greedy morons would not have the lifestyle they have. The working class have suffered enough with our wages barely able to keep ourselves let alone a family. Stand up Grayling you robbing toad and say you will not be using our taxes to bail out yet another greedy hand in our oven. As for Branson he should be banished to his beloved burned out island forever because he is not the man he likes people to think he is. He has already robbed our NHS service and to reward him for this our government has awarded him a contract under Virgin Care. What a joke. It was an utter disgrace that our banks robbed us and we bailed them out yet not one of the fatcats were prosecuted, why? Now bailing out that swindling Branson ... time to stop!

My understanding is that Virgin (and hence Branson) holds only 10% of the East Coast franchise being bailed-out. Surely Stagecoach are the major villains - if nearly invisible?

To prevent collecting money you could cut a hole in the bottom of the bucket (or make a cardboard one with no bottom). This could be used as a metaphor for the bottomless greed of companies like Virgin.

Take all railways in Britain back into public ownership.

This goes to show just how much we are all in together. Under the Tories the "RICH Get RICHER and THE POOR GET ALL THE COW SH*T". How can Chris Grayling have the "RIGHT HONOURABLE" after his name. He is just another Tory who knows how to waste the Tax's Payer's Money and make Branson even Richer. Time for People Power to tell this Tory Party it is time for a change and let us show them how Public Ownership of our Railways works for all and not for Profit & and making Branson an even richer person.

We are returning to feudal times, in which most of us are disposable serfs to be squeezed dry in order to increase the profits of the rich and shameless, who run the country for the benefit of themselves and their billionaire mates.

Bransons 10% share of East Coast is just for the use of the Virgin brand estimated at £90m per annum straight into his pocket for no effort. This is profiteering.

This money could be put to far more better use - like the NHS.

Richard Branson and Partners (This includes all investors) know very well the risks involved in business. If you over or under estimate, I'm sorry but you have to suck up your losses. If I put a £10 bet on a team to win something, as I believe they have a good chance. Then they lose, what do you think of my chances of getting my stake back? I know the scale of loss is much bigger. That is the way business works, they rise and fall on a daily basis.

The UK Tax payers can't be expected to bail out Private Enterprises every time they fail. They want the bonuses and incentives that go with running (Poorly I may add) public services. But, don't want to take any of the responsibility. We went through it with the banks, and are still paying for it throughout parts of the UK with other utilities and services. If this Government bails out anymore of these so called Private Companies. They really must consider tendering their resignation, as there will be no more acceptance of apologies.

So lets get this right, Virgin enter into a contract with the government. A contract which states that we the tax payer through Network Rail will do various upgrades and that Virgin Trains will run the service. After a couple of years Network Rail have not done the upgrades as stated in the contract so Virgin at this point has every right to cancel the contract, or it could sue Network Rail (IE US) for breach of contract. The government obviously took the view that the cheapest way out of this was to let Virgin walk away. Blame Network Rail not Branson.