The Daily Mail and the leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition Ed Miliband are embroiled in a war of words after the newspaper attacked Ed's father Ralph Miliband for his Marxist beliefs.
Ralph was a Belgian Jew and Marxist academic who fled Belgium for Britain to escape the Nazis during the Second World War. A few days ago the Mail criticised Ralph as being "The Man Who Hated Britain".
The newspaper quoted the 17-year-old Ralph writing during the Second World War that ‘the Englishman is a rabid nationalist’ and ‘you sometimes want them almost to lose (the war) to show them how things are’.
Aged 45, he wrote of his disdain for the British Establishment, saying it included: ‘Eton and Harrow, Oxford and Cambridge, the great Clubs, the Times, the Church, the Army, the respectable Sunday papers ... the House of Lords ... social hierarchies, God save the Queen.'
But Ed Miliband, who wants to become Prime Minister after the next General Election in 2015, has come out saying that the claims that his father was anti-British are untrue.
In yesterday’s Mail, Ed Miliband responded by writing an article, which the Mail published in full, in which he insisted his father had loved Britain.
He told the BBC yesterday: ‘It’s perfectly legitimate for the Daily Mail to talk about my father’s politics but when they say that he hated Britain I was not willing to put up with that because my father loved Britain.
‘My father served in the Royal Navy, he was a refugee who came here and found security in this country.
‘He took great comfort from what this country offered him and I’m speaking out as a son.
‘I was appalled when I read the Daily Mail on Saturday and saw them saying that he hated Britain. It’s a lie.’
Mr Cameron admitted he had not read the original article but cautioned against politicians complaining about scrutiny of their families.
Education Secretary Michael Gove said: ‘Politicians should not tell editors what to put in their papers. A raucous and robust press is a critical safeguard of freedom.’
Ed Miliband, known as 'Red Ed' because of his Marxist background, has been leader of the Labour Party since 2010 and, since then, has taken the party to the Left.
The right wing Daily Mail is showing that it's no fan of Marxism, a left wing system which gave the world Communism and death camps, and is refusing to apologise to Miliband.
War of words over Red Ed's Marxist dad: Mail critique of Ralph Miliband triggers a furious debate
Ed Miliband said he is 'appalled' that the Mail hasn't retracted its article about father Ralph
But some commentators have described it as a fair profile of a staunch Marxist
Opposition party leaders David Cameron and Nick Clegg have weighed into the row
By Sam Greenhill and Claire Ellicott
1 October 2013
Daily Mail
Related articles from the Daily Mail:
'Anybody who believes in Marxism has never lived in Soviet Russia... or is mad': Mail readers' views - for and against Ed Miliband's father Ralph and Daily Mail readers' views on Marxism - for and against | Mail Online
Stalin's gulags and his Left wing British apologists: MICHAEL BURLEIGH: Stalin's gulags and his Left wing British apologists | Mail Online
Marxism...and just how much did Ralph influence Red Ed?: Marxism and just how much did Ralph Miliband influence Red Ed? | Mail Online
A war of words erupted yesterday as Ed Miliband declared himself ‘furious’ at the Daily Mail for a trenchant attack on his father’s Marxist beliefs.
The Labour leader said he was ‘appalled’ at the newspaper’s refusal to retract its article about Ralph Miliband – headlined ‘The Man Who Hated Britain’ – and launched a petition to condemn it.
But the newspaper said it stood by every word of its essay, which some commentators praised as a fair profile of a refugee to Britain who was a staunch supporter of what the Mail calls ‘one of the world’s most poisonous political doctrines’.
Family: Ed Miliband and father Ralph Miliband, pictured in London in 1989
Prime Minister David Cameron, London's Tory Mayor Boris Johnson and Liberal Democrats leader and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg issued expressions of sympathy for the Labour leader, but others said this newspaper had been right to highlight the academic’s formative influences on his son as he vies to become prime minister.
Cabinet ministers including Michael Gove and Jeremy Hunt defended the right of newspapers to scrutinise politicians’ backgrounds.
The critique of Ralph Miliband, who died in 1994, was published in Saturday’s edition of the Daily Mail.
The newspaper quoted the 17-year-old Ralph writing during the Second World War that ‘the Englishman is a rabid nationalist’ and ‘you sometimes want them almost to lose (the war) to show them how things are’.
War of words: Labour Party leader Ed Miliband wrote a rebuttal to the Mail piece in yesterday's paper
Aged 45, he wrote of his disdain for the British Establishment, saying it included: ‘Eton and Harrow, Oxford and Cambridge, the great Clubs, the Times, the Church, the Army, the respectable Sunday papers ... the House of Lords ... social hierarchies, God save the Queen.’
In yesterday’s paper, Ed Miliband responded by writing an article, which the Mail published in full, in which he insisted his father had loved Britain.
He told the BBC yesterday: ‘It’s perfectly legitimate for the Daily Mail to talk about my father’s politics but when they say that he hated Britain I was not willing to put up with that because my father loved Britain.
‘My father served in the Royal Navy, he was a refugee who came here and found security in this country.
‘He took great comfort from what this country offered him and I’m speaking out as a son.
‘I was appalled when I read the Daily Mail on Saturday and saw them saying that he hated Britain. It’s a lie.’
Mr Cameron admitted he had not read the original article but cautioned against politicians complaining about scrutiny of their families.
Education Secretary Michael Gove said: ‘Politicians should not tell editors what to put in their papers. A raucous and robust press is a critical safeguard of freedom.’
Former deputy prime minister Lord Prescott admitted to Channel 4 News that Mr Miliband’s father was no democrat.
‘I knew Ralph Miliband. He didn’t like Parliament, he didn’t like social democracy,’ he said.
United: Ed's brother, former Foreign Secretary David Miliband, right, wrote on Twitter that his 'dad loved Britain'
Support: Both Prime Minister David Cameron, left, and Deputy PM Nick Clegg, right, sent messages sympathising with Mr Miliband
‘But you can’t character assassinate Ed Miliband simply because of what the father did. Anybody with blood in their hearts would say “I’m going to defend my family”.’
Anne McElvoy, of The Economist, said: ‘Ed Miliband has often used his father, and talked about his father in speeches and in his self-presentation as his inspiration.
‘It is quite reasonable to look into what Ralph Miliband believes.
'While he may not have hated Britain, he certainly disapproved of many of the founding institutions of the state and was at odds with them.’
Many callers to London station LBC said Mr Miliband’s penchant for name-checking his late father in his own political speeches meant he should expect some scrutiny of his father’s Marxist beliefs.
In an editorial published alongside Mr Miliband’s response yesterday, the Mail refused to apologise and asked how his father’s Marxist vision could possibly be declared out of bounds for public discussion.
Views: Former Labour Deputy Prime Minister Lord Prescott told Channel 4 that Ralph Miliband was 'no democrat'
Last night a spokesman for the Mail said: ‘We ask fair-minded people to read our editorial today. For what this episode confirms is that you cannot allow politicians anywhere near regulating the Press.
‘While we respect Mr Miliband’s right to defend his father – and he has done so in the Daily Mail today – it is worth stressing that Ralph Miliband wasn’t an ordinary private individual but a prominent academic and author who devoted his life to promoting a Marxist dogma which caused so much misery in the world.
‘He hated such British institutions as the Queen, the Church and the Army, and wanted a workers’ revolution. Our readers have a right to know that.
‘Ed Miliband, the Labour leader, is the leading advocate of statutory controls on the Press in Britain under which politicians could ultimately decide what appears in newspapers.
‘His father – to whom he constantly refers in his speeches – was a proponent of one of the world’s most poisonous political doctrines under which freedom of expression was crushed and newspapers controlled by governments.’
The Press Complaints Commission said it had received more than 30 complaints about the Daily Mail article, although none was from Labour or the Miliband family.
Former foreign secretary David Miliband wrote on Twitter ‘my dad loved Britain’ and said his younger brother was telling the truth.
Enlarge
Read more: War of words over Red Ed's Marxist dad: Mail critique of Ralph Miliband triggers a furious debate | Mail Online
Ralph was a Belgian Jew and Marxist academic who fled Belgium for Britain to escape the Nazis during the Second World War. A few days ago the Mail criticised Ralph as being "The Man Who Hated Britain".
The newspaper quoted the 17-year-old Ralph writing during the Second World War that ‘the Englishman is a rabid nationalist’ and ‘you sometimes want them almost to lose (the war) to show them how things are’.
Aged 45, he wrote of his disdain for the British Establishment, saying it included: ‘Eton and Harrow, Oxford and Cambridge, the great Clubs, the Times, the Church, the Army, the respectable Sunday papers ... the House of Lords ... social hierarchies, God save the Queen.'
But Ed Miliband, who wants to become Prime Minister after the next General Election in 2015, has come out saying that the claims that his father was anti-British are untrue.
In yesterday’s Mail, Ed Miliband responded by writing an article, which the Mail published in full, in which he insisted his father had loved Britain.
He told the BBC yesterday: ‘It’s perfectly legitimate for the Daily Mail to talk about my father’s politics but when they say that he hated Britain I was not willing to put up with that because my father loved Britain.
‘My father served in the Royal Navy, he was a refugee who came here and found security in this country.
‘He took great comfort from what this country offered him and I’m speaking out as a son.
‘I was appalled when I read the Daily Mail on Saturday and saw them saying that he hated Britain. It’s a lie.’
Mr Cameron admitted he had not read the original article but cautioned against politicians complaining about scrutiny of their families.
Education Secretary Michael Gove said: ‘Politicians should not tell editors what to put in their papers. A raucous and robust press is a critical safeguard of freedom.’
Ed Miliband, known as 'Red Ed' because of his Marxist background, has been leader of the Labour Party since 2010 and, since then, has taken the party to the Left.
The right wing Daily Mail is showing that it's no fan of Marxism, a left wing system which gave the world Communism and death camps, and is refusing to apologise to Miliband.
War of words over Red Ed's Marxist dad: Mail critique of Ralph Miliband triggers a furious debate
Ed Miliband said he is 'appalled' that the Mail hasn't retracted its article about father Ralph
But some commentators have described it as a fair profile of a staunch Marxist
Opposition party leaders David Cameron and Nick Clegg have weighed into the row
By Sam Greenhill and Claire Ellicott
1 October 2013
Daily Mail
Related articles from the Daily Mail:
'Anybody who believes in Marxism has never lived in Soviet Russia... or is mad': Mail readers' views - for and against Ed Miliband's father Ralph and Daily Mail readers' views on Marxism - for and against | Mail Online
Stalin's gulags and his Left wing British apologists: MICHAEL BURLEIGH: Stalin's gulags and his Left wing British apologists | Mail Online
Marxism...and just how much did Ralph influence Red Ed?: Marxism and just how much did Ralph Miliband influence Red Ed? | Mail Online
A war of words erupted yesterday as Ed Miliband declared himself ‘furious’ at the Daily Mail for a trenchant attack on his father’s Marxist beliefs.
The Labour leader said he was ‘appalled’ at the newspaper’s refusal to retract its article about Ralph Miliband – headlined ‘The Man Who Hated Britain’ – and launched a petition to condemn it.
But the newspaper said it stood by every word of its essay, which some commentators praised as a fair profile of a refugee to Britain who was a staunch supporter of what the Mail calls ‘one of the world’s most poisonous political doctrines’.
Family: Ed Miliband and father Ralph Miliband, pictured in London in 1989
Prime Minister David Cameron, London's Tory Mayor Boris Johnson and Liberal Democrats leader and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg issued expressions of sympathy for the Labour leader, but others said this newspaper had been right to highlight the academic’s formative influences on his son as he vies to become prime minister.
Cabinet ministers including Michael Gove and Jeremy Hunt defended the right of newspapers to scrutinise politicians’ backgrounds.
The critique of Ralph Miliband, who died in 1994, was published in Saturday’s edition of the Daily Mail.
The newspaper quoted the 17-year-old Ralph writing during the Second World War that ‘the Englishman is a rabid nationalist’ and ‘you sometimes want them almost to lose (the war) to show them how things are’.
War of words: Labour Party leader Ed Miliband wrote a rebuttal to the Mail piece in yesterday's paper
Aged 45, he wrote of his disdain for the British Establishment, saying it included: ‘Eton and Harrow, Oxford and Cambridge, the great Clubs, the Times, the Church, the Army, the respectable Sunday papers ... the House of Lords ... social hierarchies, God save the Queen.’
In yesterday’s paper, Ed Miliband responded by writing an article, which the Mail published in full, in which he insisted his father had loved Britain.
He told the BBC yesterday: ‘It’s perfectly legitimate for the Daily Mail to talk about my father’s politics but when they say that he hated Britain I was not willing to put up with that because my father loved Britain.
‘My father served in the Royal Navy, he was a refugee who came here and found security in this country.
‘He took great comfort from what this country offered him and I’m speaking out as a son.
‘I was appalled when I read the Daily Mail on Saturday and saw them saying that he hated Britain. It’s a lie.’
Mr Cameron admitted he had not read the original article but cautioned against politicians complaining about scrutiny of their families.
Education Secretary Michael Gove said: ‘Politicians should not tell editors what to put in their papers. A raucous and robust press is a critical safeguard of freedom.’
Former deputy prime minister Lord Prescott admitted to Channel 4 News that Mr Miliband’s father was no democrat.
‘I knew Ralph Miliband. He didn’t like Parliament, he didn’t like social democracy,’ he said.
United: Ed's brother, former Foreign Secretary David Miliband, right, wrote on Twitter that his 'dad loved Britain'
Support: Both Prime Minister David Cameron, left, and Deputy PM Nick Clegg, right, sent messages sympathising with Mr Miliband
‘But you can’t character assassinate Ed Miliband simply because of what the father did. Anybody with blood in their hearts would say “I’m going to defend my family”.’
Anne McElvoy, of The Economist, said: ‘Ed Miliband has often used his father, and talked about his father in speeches and in his self-presentation as his inspiration.
‘It is quite reasonable to look into what Ralph Miliband believes.
'While he may not have hated Britain, he certainly disapproved of many of the founding institutions of the state and was at odds with them.’
Many callers to London station LBC said Mr Miliband’s penchant for name-checking his late father in his own political speeches meant he should expect some scrutiny of his father’s Marxist beliefs.
In an editorial published alongside Mr Miliband’s response yesterday, the Mail refused to apologise and asked how his father’s Marxist vision could possibly be declared out of bounds for public discussion.
Views: Former Labour Deputy Prime Minister Lord Prescott told Channel 4 that Ralph Miliband was 'no democrat'
Last night a spokesman for the Mail said: ‘We ask fair-minded people to read our editorial today. For what this episode confirms is that you cannot allow politicians anywhere near regulating the Press.
‘While we respect Mr Miliband’s right to defend his father – and he has done so in the Daily Mail today – it is worth stressing that Ralph Miliband wasn’t an ordinary private individual but a prominent academic and author who devoted his life to promoting a Marxist dogma which caused so much misery in the world.
‘He hated such British institutions as the Queen, the Church and the Army, and wanted a workers’ revolution. Our readers have a right to know that.
‘Ed Miliband, the Labour leader, is the leading advocate of statutory controls on the Press in Britain under which politicians could ultimately decide what appears in newspapers.
‘His father – to whom he constantly refers in his speeches – was a proponent of one of the world’s most poisonous political doctrines under which freedom of expression was crushed and newspapers controlled by governments.’
The Press Complaints Commission said it had received more than 30 complaints about the Daily Mail article, although none was from Labour or the Miliband family.
Former foreign secretary David Miliband wrote on Twitter ‘my dad loved Britain’ and said his younger brother was telling the truth.
Enlarge
Read more: War of words over Red Ed's Marxist dad: Mail critique of Ralph Miliband triggers a furious debate | Mail Online
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