Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin is to consider stopping planned new train services to and from France in east London.

Senior London MP Sir Stephen Timms has been pushing for international rail services to the capital to stop at both Stratford International and St Pancras International.

The MP for East Ham highlighted the “commercial opportunity” of such a move as east London becomes an increasingly thriving part of the city.

He also stressed that continental services stopping at Stratford International would boost regeneration in east London.

He spoke out after Virgin was given track access for new services between London and Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam in 2030, in a step forward for its plans to rival Eurostar.

Rail regulator the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) said it had granted approval for Sir Richard’s company that will allow it to run up to 20 new daily return services through the Channel Tunnel.

The agreement covers the period between October 1 2030 to December 31 2040 and relates to tracks owned and run by London St Pancras High Speed.

Sir Stephen, minister for social security and disability, told The Standard: “I welcome the prospect of new operators.

“One of them, Gemini, has been very clear in it's commitment to stopping at Stratford.

“I would urge Virgin to stop at Stratford too.”

He added: “It's a big and fast growing commercial opportunity.

“International services at Stratford will, in turn, promote regeneration in East London.”

Responding to his comments, the Virgin Group stressed that its plans for a new London to continental Europe rail service were “moving at pace”.

A spokeswoman said: “We have recently been awarded track access on London St Pancras Highspeed and will be bringing investment and new skilled jobs to the Temple Mills depot in East London.”

She stressed further: “Virgin’s ambition extends beyond its initial launch plans and we’ve been actively engaging with stakeholders to explore future expansion.

“Virgin is looking forward to exploring additional stops, including Stratford International.”

The company will also consider whether its trains should stop at Ebbsfleet and Ashford in Kent.

Sir Stephen first proposed international trains stopping at Stratford when he was chairman of Newham planning committee in the late 1980s.

In recent years, he has stepped up his calls for such a development as St Pancras International has struggled to cope with passenger numbers.

The idea has won backing from Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, which operates the giant Westfield shopping complexes in east and west London.

Sir Richard previously said it was “time to end this 30-year monopoly (of Eurostar) and bring some Virgin magic to the cross-Channel route”.

Virgin will still has to secure approval to access rail tracks through the Channel Tunnel, which links southern England and northern France and is owned by Eurotunnel.

But it means the company has passed another key regulatory hurdle towards starting the international services, after being granted access last October to share Eurostar’s Temple Mills depot in east London to maintain and store trains.

Temple Mills is the only depot that can be accessed from High Speed 1, the line that runs between London and the tunnel.

Eurostar has held a monopoly on passenger services through the tunnel since it opened in 1994.