Labour leader Ed Miliband will go under knife to have restful nights

Published on Friday 22 April 2011 19:09

LABOUR leader Ed Miliband is to have nasal surgery which will transform his speaking voice.

Mr Miliband will have an operation during the summer parliamentary recess to correct a deviated septum.

But the party denied claims that the surgery was an attempt to address the opposition leader's "bunged up" delivery style.

A spokesman said Mr Miliband has been diagnosed with sleep apnoea, a condition which interrupts breathing during sleep and wakes the sufferer.

That is being made worse for the Labour leader by a deviated septum in his nose.

He will have surgery to correct the septum at the end of July, as MPs break up for summer.

However, it was reported that Mr Miliband, who is getting married next month, was having the operation in order to improve his voice and make him sound less "bunged up".

The Labour leader has had to face criticism for his presentational skills, not just the sound of his voice but his "panda eyes" which have been regularly lampooned by cartoonists.

He has also had to endure unfavourable comparisons with Prime Minister David Cameron who, as a former PR man, has an easy style in front of cameras.

To make things worse critics in the Labour Party who wanted his brother David to lead the party have said that the older sibling comes over much better on television.

But a Labour Party spokesman said: "Ed Miliband has been diagnosed with sleep apnoea, made worse by a deviated septum.

"On medical advice he is having a routine operation to correct the deviated septum at the end of July with the NHS."

He added: "We do not intend to comment further."

Sleep apnoea is a condition in which breathing temporarily stops during sleep. This is usually caused by an obstruction blocking the back of the throat so that air cannot reach the lungs.

The cessation of breathing automatically forces you to wake up in order to start breathing again, according to the Sleep Apnoea Association.

Extremely loud snoring, excessive daytime sleepiness, and morning headaches are some of the symptoms.

Adenotonsillectomy, or the removal of the tonsils and adenoids, alone is not an effective treatment for adults with sleep apnoea, according to the association.

Soft tissue at the back of the throat would need to be removed to cure the condition altogether. This has a success rate of 65 per cent. Famous people who suffer from sleep apnoea include comedian Billy Connolly, author Christopher Hitchens and actor William Shatner.