In 2011, Ed Miliband “declared war” on Rupert Murdoch, in a savvy political move that still gets cited more than two years on when an example of his political gumption is required.
Now, it seems he’s taking on another branch of the media establishment – the Daily Mail.
On Saturday, Paul Dacre’s paper ran a piece by Geoffrey Levy about Ed’s father Ralph under the headline “the man who hated Britain”. Ralph Miliband, an influential sociologist who fled Belgium to avoid Nazi persecution, is described in the piece in the following terms:
As for the country that gave him and his family protection, the 17-year-old wrote in his diary: ‘The Englishman is a rabid nationalist. They are perhaps the most nationalist people in the world . . . you sometimes want them almost to lose (the war) to show them how things are. They have the greatest contempt for the Continent . . . To lose their empire would be the worst possible humiliation.’
This adolescent distaste for the British character certainly didn’t stop him availing himself of the fine education that was on offer in this country, or spending the rest of his life here.
Ed Miliband expressed his anger and disgust at this “denigration” of his father’s name on Twitter:
The Daily Mail has agreed to publish a reply by me on Tuesday to their piece about my father headlined “Man Who Hated Britain”. (1/2)
Subscribe to The New Statesman today from only £8.99 per month— Ed Miliband (@Ed_Miliband) September 29, 2013
My dad loved Britain, he served in the Royal Navy and I am not prepared to allow his good name to be denigrated in this way. (2/2)
— Ed Miliband (@Ed_Miliband) September 29, 2013
Watch this space . . .
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