DIRECTOR Ken Loach has delivered a devastating knock-back to Tim Farron after the Lib Dem leader said he had been “energised” by the film-maker’s work. Mr Farron revealed yesterday that he had been inspired to enter politics after watching Cathy Come Home as a teenager.

The groundbreaking TV docu-drama showed how a family can be made homeless through no fault of their own. In his party conference speech, Mr Farron told activists the programme had “lit a flame in me.”

He said: “It made me angry, it energised me, it made me want to get up and get involved. And so I did, and I haven’t stopped.”