Rupert Murdoch is a 'much less powerful man' Ed Miliband says, to Russell Brand's delight

Comedian interviewed Labour leader for his YouTube Channel The Trews

Rupert Murdoch is a “much less powerful” man than he used to be, Ed Miliband has said in an interview with comedian Russell Brand.

The Labour leader, who has made standing up to the media mogul over the phone-hacking affair a central plank to prove he is a strong leader, said the newspapers he owns are not as influential as they once were.

He said the British public have “a lot more sense” than some of his newspapers “give them credit for”.

Labour has pledged to introduce measures to protect media plurality. It would ensure no owner would be able to control more than 34 per cent of the UK media, a cap which would force Murdoch’s News Corp to sell one of its titles.

Miliband made his latest anti-Murdoch comments in his much-anticipated interview with Brand.

“I’ve spoken out at Rupert Murdoch on phone hacking and what happened to ordinary members of the public who were victims of phone hacking and intrusion and all those things,” he said. “The thing I’d say to you though about this, these people are less powerful than they used to be.”

Russell Brand interviews Ed Miliband for his YouTube channel The Trews

He added: “Media ownership really matters, it’s something I care about, we’ve set out in our manifesto [that] we’re definitely going to look at the issue.

“I’m not diminishing Rupert Murdoch… he’s much less powerful than he used to be. The British people have a lot more sense than some of these papers give them credit for.”

Miliband’s latest remarks are unlikely to change his relationship with Murdoch. The News Corp boss has made no secret of his dislike of the Labour leader and earlier this year he berated journalists at The Sun for not doing enough to stop Labour winning the general election, warning them that the future of the company depended on stopping Ed Miliband entering No 10.

Sources told The Independent that he instructed them to be much more aggressive in their attacks on Labour and more positive about Conservative achievements in the run-up to polling day.

Labour has complained that the tone of The Sun’s coverage has become increasingly hostile. A party source said: “Every announcement we gave them got twisted.”

Mr Miliband was mocked-up as a character from The Simpsons, in a spread headlined MANIFEST-D’OH! last week. The paper also accused him of “hypocrisy” because he and his wife Justine use an upper-floor kitchen, while his sons’ nanny has a second in the basement.

Last night a Sun source denied corporate concerns affected editorial decisions – pointing out that it had labelled Mr Miliband “Red Ed” when he was standing for the Labour leadership.

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