Saturday, 5 October 2013

Miliband v the Daily Mail

Yes, that is Adolf Hitler - with then-Daily Mail proprietor Lord Rothermere I
THE DAILY MAIL hit a new low this week when it made an unbridled series of slurs on the dead father of the Labour leader Ed Miliband.

Ralph Miliband, a Marxist academic, was labelled "an evil man who hated Britain" by the self-righteous right-wing rag on the strength of a diary entry which he had made aged 17.

Naturally, the article upset the Leader of the Opposition who understandably leapt to his late father's defence.

"Fierce debate about politics does not justify character assassination of my father, questioning the patriotism of a man who risked his life for our country in the Second World War," said Mr Miliband.

Undaunted, the Mail justified the story on basis that Ralph Miliband's hardline left-wing stance would have heavily influenced his son.

And, of course, it came in the context of 'Red Ed' having delivered an impassioned, slightly more left-wing, party conference speech in favour of freezing energy bills.

Indeed, in an extraordinary twist, the Mail - having refused to apologise - has now demanded an apology itself from the Labour party for the accusation that its Ralph Miliband article had been motivated by anti-Semitism.

Most of the flak, however, has deservedly headed in the newspaper's direction - and it has not just come from  left-wing political circles.

The affair prompted prominent right-wing broadsheet the Telegraph to republish their Ralph Miliband obituary, a fair-minded review which referred to him as "an inspiring teacher of politics and an internationally renowned figure of the British Left".

Meanwhile, a minister from the Thatcher cabinet, Lord Moore, accused the Mail of "telling lies" about his former tutor.

The current Conservatives - aware that the ill-timed furore was overshadowing their conference in Manchester - were generally a bit more reserved.

Prime Minister David Cameron and Foreign Secretary William Hague both supported Mr Miliband's right to defend his father, without further commenting on the Mail article.

However, Deputy PM Nick Clegg did not hold back, referring to the paper as "overflowing with bile".

Of course, he and the Liberal Democrats had come under attack by the paper during the 2010 General Election campaign, partly for him having the audacity of being married to a sweet seƱorita from Spain.

The general consensus in the Westminster village - and perhaps the country at large - was that the story had backfired, and that Mr Miliband had received sympathy and support for his stance, despite his ongoing dreadful approval ratings.

Indeed, the view against the Mail newspaper group became even more entrenched when it emerged two journalists from sister paper, the Mail on Sunday, had intruded into a private memorial service for Mr Miliband's recently deceased uncle.

Action has at least been taken at the weekly publication - the reporters have been suspended and editor Geordie Greig has issued an apology.

Yet, still, Daily Mail editor Paul Dacre remains unmoved.

It is an incredible state of affairs, considering that, while the story is shameful in itself, it is actually unbelievably hypocritical as well.

For, while Ralph Miliband fled the Nazis in 1940, the then-Mail owner Lord Rothermere, Harold Harmsworth, famously sent gushing telegrams to Adolf Hitler and even met with him.

But, then, supporting far-right parties is not just something which the Mail did in the dark pre-WWII era.

As recently as last year, a columnist at the Mail, Richard Waghorne, ridiculously supported the leader of the French Front National, Marine Le Pen, in the presidential election.
 
At least, the media furore has meant that, on this occasion, the Mail has not got away with some pretty ignominious journalism, with social media gallantly leading the response.

The Twitter hashtag '#mydadhatedbritain' produced several comic gems, all of which - without exception - were laced with sarcasm.

Meanwhile satirical site Us Vs Th3m has created a quiz which allows you to determine just exactly how hated you are by the Mail...

Why not try it for yourself?... although, after this week, Mr Miliband hardly needs a quiz to find out where he stands.

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