Jeremy Corbyn appeared to have had enough yesterday as his first conference as party leader drew to a close.
The Islington North MP, who was spotted at the Daily Mirror party on Tuesday night, called off a number of media engagements yesterday afternoon.
Among those to be snubbed were regional journalists due to interview the new party leader at a specially organised briefing.
Mr Corbyn, whose aides were visibly frustrated at his decision to pull out at the last minute, was a big hit with activists at the gathering in Brighton.
He was frequently seen chatting to supporters along the seafront and taking selfies with fans.
But he made no effort to disguise his contempt for the “media commentariat”, choosing to begin his keynote speech not with an attack on the Tories, but the press.
He returned to the theme several times in the address, accusing some media commentators of “sneering” at the party’s recent increase in membership.
Asked why Mr Corbyn cancelled, his spokesman said the leader had been attending to conference business, which had to come first.
At the time the regional briefing – which The Press and Journal was due to attend – was scheduled to go ahead, Mr Corbyn was on stage in the main conference hall listening to contributions from the floor.