Ed Miliband tries to defuse ‘two kitchens’ row

Ed Miliband and his wife Justine. The Labour leader has been criticised for having two kitchens at his two million-pound London home. Picture: Getty

The Labour leader was filmed drinking tea with his wife Justine in a modest kitchen for a BBC profile earlier this week.

The images prompted Daily Mail columnist Sarah Vine to criticised the “forlorn little” room, branding it “devoid of colour and character”.

Another columnist, Jenni Russell then attempted to defend Mr Miliband - godfather to her child - by tweeting that his main kitchen was “lovely” and the pictures merely showed “the functional kitchenette by sitting room for tea and quick snacks”.

The intervention saw the Labour leader mocked by political opponents as “Two Kitchens” - a reference to former Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott’s nickname of “Two Jags”.

Speaking to the Birmingham Mail today, Mr Miliband denied choosing to be filmed in the smaller kitchen because it was less imposing.

“The house we bought had a kitchen downstairs when we bought it,” he said.

“And it is not the one we use. We use the small one upstairs.”

Pressed again on why he was shown in the smaller kitchen, Mr Miliband added: “This is the kitchen Justine and I use.”

He joked: “I think Justine would probably say she wishes I’d spend more time in the kitchen.”