'Why can't you answer my questions?' Corbyn is slammed by BBC's Andrew Marr for flannelling as he won't even say if he's ever been in an Uber taxi

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Jeremy Corbyn was ridiculed for flannelling during an interview today - as he even refused to say whether he had been in an Uber.

The Labour leader dodged desperately on a range of topics during his traditional conference curtain-raising BBC appearance.

He attempted to evade taking any positions on Brexit, immigration and threats of illegal strikes by his union allies.

At one point he was asked whether he had ever used an Uber taxi, and replied that he was not 'sure'.

Presenter Andrew Marr became so frustrated with his tactics that he asked the veteran left-winger: 'What's happened to you that you cannot answer my questions?' 

Mr Corbyn said he 'understood' where those in his party supporting free movement were coming from

The Labour leader flannelled desperately as he was grilled on a variety of topics during the BBC interview today

During his interview, Mr Corbyn refused to rule out keeping free movement after Brexit.

He also said it was 'impossible' to put a timescale on how long the status quo should be maintained before ties are finally cut.

Mr Corbyn said he agreed with the government that a transition deal was needed after March 2019 for the UK to adjust to life outside the EU. 

But pressed on whether he thought the two-year timescale set out by Theresa May was right, he merely said: 'It is impossible for anyone to put an absolute timescale on that.'

The comments will alarm Brexiteers who are already concerned that the outcome of the historic referendum last year is being subverted.

Repeatedly grilled on whether free movement should stay after we leave the EU, Mr Corbyn again dodged. Labour is deeply divided on the issue, with many MPs calling for Britain to stay in the EU and avoid any tougher restrictions on flows.

Mr Corbyn said he 'understood' where those in his party supporting free movement were coming from.

'A lot of people are going to come and work here,' he said. 

Mr Corbyn vaguely hinted at backing for illegal strikes - berating the government for not bowing to union demands for a 5 per cent pay hike for public sector workers.

The Labour leader desperately dodged when pressed on the BBC's Andrew Marr show today over whether loose immigration rules should be maintained after we formally leave the EU

He repeatedly refused to criticise threats from his union allies to step outside the law with industrial.

Asked whether he would join picket lines if strikes were called without ballot thresholds being met, he said: said: 'I will be supporting those workers in getting a decent pay rise.' 

He lambasted ministers for not bowing to demands for a big pay rise for public sector workers, but would not say whether he supported the across-the-board 5 per cent hikes being called for by unions.

Such inflation-busting rises would be around double the average rise in the private sector, and cost the public purse around £10billion a year.

The government has already announced it is easing the 1 per cent cap on public sector pay rises, but says any increases must be balanced against the need to tackle the still-significant deficit.

Mr Corbyn was almost immediately contradicted on strikes by deputy Tom Watson, who said: 'We don’t support people breaking the law. We don’t want people to break the law, we are democrats.

'We are going to change the law so that trade unionists can have greater rights because we think our current framework of laws is very unfair.'

Len McCluskey, one of Mr Corbyn's closest allies, reiterated that he was ready to take strikes over public sector pay even if the legal threshold of a 50 per cent turnout is not reached.

Speaking on ITV's Peston programme, Mr McCluskey urged Theresa May not to push workers 'outside the law'.

Mr Corbyn repeated his condemnation of Uber, saying he supported moves by Transport for London to ban the firm from the capital over its handling of sexual assault allegations by drivers.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan has supported the decision to withdraw the company's licence, but there has been a huge backlash from Londoners, with more than 600,000 signing a petition calling for it to be reinstated.  

Labour has also criticised the company for undercutting black cabbies and failing to give drivers employment benefits.  

However, asked whether he had ever used an Uber Mr Corbyn said he was 'not sure'.