Keir Starmer has demanded urgent mental health support for students as struggling first years described being trapped in university halls by coronavirus.
Thousands of students have been forced to self isolate at universities such as Manchester, Glasgow and Edinburgh as the virus grips campuses.
The Labour leader held a video call with students, where two freshers described how their entire flats had tested positive for Covid-19 shortly after arriving.
Students described struggling to make friends and feeling alone while locked in their halls. Sophie, a first year at Leeds University, said her six-person flat all contracted the virus within days of arriving.