Former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown has found himself amid a high-profile dispute with several BA passengers.

The Mail reported at the weekend that a number of business class passengers, including one pregnant woman, on a British Airways flight to London from the Middle East were bumped from their seats as Brown and his large entourage boarded the plane during a stopover.

The flight from Oman had stopped in Abu Dhabi when the passengers were informed there had been a sudden issue due to ‘overbooking’ and many were forced to move to economy and premium economy seats whilst others were informed they would not be able to travel onward on the same aircraft. But when passengers saw Brown and his crew board the plane they became infuriated and accused the airline of putting them aside to accommodate the former politician, however BA denies the accusation.

A spokeswoman for the airline said that the situation was simply a coincidence and had no connection with Gordon Brown and his profile. She said that the situation was a very rare occurrence and that the airline had issued an apology and had offered to compensate the affected passengers. Brown and his party had booked the seats in advance and were not involved with the mishap, she said.

The report also said that pregnant woman had attempted to photograph Mr Brown to include with a complaint to the airline, however the move had prompted an angry response from Kirsty McNeill, Brown’s aide.