Don’t judge a man by his teen diaries

The Mail should apologise for their repugnant attack on Ed Miliband’s father.

“And then there’s this!” my pompous head teacher bawled as he lobbed a tatty essay across the desk to my shocked and red faced father.

“In all my years of teaching I don’t think I’ve ever read so much made up drivel in all my life. Donald was asked to write something about his weekend, and he came back with this garbage!

“It’s no wonder Mrs Backdive and the rest of the English department are so upset with your son’s work.

“The previous examples you’ve been shown are full of his anarchistic and adolescent views on society and his apocalyptic cravings for the death of civilisation as we understand it.

“But this work of nonsensical fiction stretches even my patience to its very limit!

“A trip to Seamill with his friends! Setting sail on his uncle’s old boat! Shooting at the windows of boats with an air rifle. A force 9 storm! The sinking of a dinghy and then being rescued by the RNLI! It’s . . . it’s . . .”

“IT’S ALL BLOODY TRUE!” my father roared back. “Every single word of it. I was there with him. And you, my friend, are an idiot for not believing him!”

My father’s ranting continued as my head teacher melted into his chair.

I was 17 years old, I was a punk, rebellious, arrogant, opinionated and cocky. I continually noised up the teachers. I hated them, the school, establishment and society.

At times I even hated my parents. My dad was a cop another group who were targets in my immature world order. But that day he was my hero!

On reading the Daily Mail’s slating of Ralph Miliband, Ed Miliband’s father, I was reminded of this murky little blast from my past.

I’m no fan of Red Ed, nor do I subscribe to his dad’s socialist ideals. But the fact that a diary entry written by 17-year-old Ralph was being used as a mark of the man in an effort to damage his son was nothing short of disgraceful.

Ralph is no longer here to defend himself, but I know of no act he committed that warranted such an attack. He was no terrorist but a teacher he threw words not bombs, working to bring up his family on a pittance.

His politics and views may have been questionable but he fought bravely for his new country in the Second World War.

We have all done and said silly things as a teen that we’ve later regretted. I certainly have. It’s part of growing up.

For Ralph Miliband’s teenage views to be dragged up in an effort to undermine his son was beyond the pale.

Red Ed isn’t my cup off tea but on this he has my full support. Why the Mail won’t apologise for their repugnant attack on his dead dad beats me.

The sins of the father should never ever be visited upon the child especially if the sins in question are nothing more than having a different political view from others.