LONDON — Ed Miliband, the former leader of the British Labour Party, expressed regret for a 2015 interview he did with comedian Russell Brand.
Speaking at the launch party for POLITICO’s U.K. energy and climate change coverage, the now shadow secretary of state for climate change and net zero said at the time he felt “duty bound” to challenge Brand, who had been encouraging young people not to vote.
Brand has been accused of rape and sexual assaults by women between 2006 and 2013, according to a Sunday Times investigation published at the weekend. The Metropolitan Police has also received a report of an alleged sexual assault in 2003 following the newspaper’s reporting. Brand denied the claims, saying his relationships were “always consensual.”
Miliband said, “My solidarity is with the women who have come forward to tell their stories.”
Asked about his appearance on Brand’s YouTube series “The Trews” before the 2015 general election when he was Labour leader, Miliband said: “I went and did an interview on his program because I wanted young people to get out and vote, but obviously knowing what I know now I regret doing it.”
Labour lost the 2015 general election.
On accusations it showed a lack of judgement, Miliband said: “Hindsight is a wonderful thing.”