Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband faced a fierce attack at Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday, as Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch criticised his past association with comedian Russell Brand, who was jailed this week for rape and three sexual assaults.
Speaking in Parliament while questioning Prime Minister Andy Burnham, Mrs Badenoch highlighted Mr Miliband's decision to appear on Brand's YouTube show in 2015, alongside his stance on North Sea oil and gas projects.
Badenoch's Attack on Miliband's Judgment
Mrs Badenoch said: “He called Rosebank ‘climate vandalism’. But then he also thought cosying up to Russell Brand would make him prime minister. So I don’t think we need to trust his judgement.”
Labour MPs attempted to heckle Mrs Badenoch, shouting “shame”. She responded: “They are saying ‘shame’, Mr Speaker. They are right, the Foreign Secretary should be ashamed.”
Background of the 2015 Interview
Mr Miliband appeared on Brand's YouTube news show in 2015, when Brand was reinventing himself as a Left-wing activist and had written a book called Revolution in 2014. At the time, Mr Miliband was Labour leader and hoped Brand's endorsement would help win over younger voters.
Left-wing journalist Owen Jones wrote in The Guardian following the interview: “However much bluff and bluster the Tories now pull – maybe more playground abuse from David Cameron, who called Brand a 'joke' – his endorsement of Labour in England and Wales will worry them.”
Miliband's Regret and Defences
Mr Miliband said earlier this year: “Of course, knowing what I know now – and I was not aware of these allegations at the time about Russell Brand – I wouldn’t have done that interview, and I regret doing it.”
Labour deputy leader Lucy Powell offered her own defence of the 2015 interview this week. She said: “We weren’t in the social media age at the time, so where you could maybe search things up and see allegations or things about somebody at the time.” She joined Twitter in 2009, the same year as Mr Miliband, according to her own profile.
