SCOTRAIL has denied claims by the leader of the RMT union that it planned to ban its staff from wearing political badges on their uniforms.

The union's general secretary, Bob Crow, accused the operator of "blatant political censorship and gagging" over a notice which he said had been issued to all staff on ScotRail.

He claimed the alleged document banned them from "distributing material that promotes political parties or cross party groups" and was clearly aimed at staff in the run-up to the independence referendum.

A ScotRail spokeswoman said: "No such notice has been or will be issued to staff."