Miliband aide snipes at World Cup bid: Spokeswoman tweets 'Pimp Cameron's a hypocrite' for giving speech

By James Chapman and Tim Shipman
Last updated at 7:15 AM on 3rd December 2010

Ed Miliband's leadership was under fresh pressure last night as his chief spin doctor was caught accusing David Cameron of 'pimping himself out' by trying to win the 2018 World Cup bid.

The Labour leader refused to discipline or sack Katie Myler, even though senior activists in her own party were shocked at remarks they said hurt England's chances of victory.

In a post on social networking site Twitter, Miss Myler wrote: 'Hypocrisy of Cameron pimping himself out in Zurich whilst [Education Secretary Michael] Gove's school sport fiasco continues at home is breathtaking.'

'Hypocrisy': Ed Miliband's spokeswoman said the Prime Minister, pictured in Zurich with David Beckham and Prince William, was 'pimping himself out' by backing the World Cup bid

In a second message, former GMTV producer Miss Myler - who is this month due to leave Mr Miliband's office for a job in corporate communications - went on: 'Assume we'll win the bid. Cameron wouldn't deign to do anything as unseemly as publicly plead for something otherwise.'

Her intervention drew a sharp response from the Prime Minister's official spokesman, who said Mr Cameron had gone to Zurich pressing the case because securing the World Cup would have been 'great for the country'.

Tory MP Gavin Barwell said: 'The World Cup bid should be about sport, not party politics.

More...

'It's a shame that whilst the Prime Minister was putting England's case in Zurich one of Ed Miliband's senior staffers was making churlish party political points back at home.'

Shortly afterwards, Miss Myler - who Tweets under the name LadyMyler - issued an apology insisting the comments were a personal view.

She did not make her Twitter feed available to the general public and believed she was sending the comments only to a closely selected group of friends.

But her comments were seen by Labour activists, who expressed dismay that she had made such crass remarks just as Mr Cameron was making the case for Britain.

Attack: Katie Myler, pictured with Ed Miliband, made the comments on Twitter

A prominent Labour activist condemned Miss Myler's views, saying: 'It is completely unbelievable that Cameron is on his feet fighting for the World Cup, something Labour has been supporting wholeheartedly, and she is tweeting away that he is pimping himself. It is a colossal lack of judgement. What the hell was she thinking?

'We are supposed to be the pro-football party. It just goes to show what a shambles the Miliband operation is at the moment.'

Contacted shortly afterwards, Miss Myler told the Daily Mail that she was speaking in a personal capacity. 'I wholeheartedly apologise for the comments. They have now been deleted,' she said.

A Labour Party spokesman said: 'Katie Myler has apologised for her personal tweet. It in no way expresses the views of Ed Miliband.'

But shadow foreign minister John Spellar launched his own Twitter offensive against London Mayor Boris Johnson, who was also lobbying for England in Zurich. Mr Spellar tweeted: 'Why is Boris swanning around Zurich instead of sorting out transport chaos in London?'

Own offensive: Labour MP John Spellar attacked Boris Johnson's trip to Zurich on his Twitter account

The remarks were viewed with dismay among Labour MPs and frontbench allies of Mr Miliband.

One senior figure said: 'You should never say anything on Twitter that you wouldn't say in a television studio. The problem is that this will contribute to the sense that Ed has not yet got a good enough team around him. He knows that and he's trying to do something about it, but it's very unfortunate.'

A prominent frontbencher admitted that Labour is struggling to come to terms with being in opposition and that the sight of Mr Cameron on the world stage is hard for many to stomach.

'It makes it worse because Cameron looks like a natural when he is pictured between Prince William and David Beckham,' he said.

'It sticks in the throat to see Cameron up there. But that's the advantage of being in power. Tony and Gordon both used that to good effect.'

The row came as Mr Miliband faced fresh calls from Labour MPs to kickstart his stuttering leadership of the party.

Labour jitters were heightened this week by what even Mr Miliband's allies conceded was a disastrous performance at Prime Minister's Questions.

One shadow minister insisted there was not yet a sense of crisis but conceded there was a 'worrying lack of direction' from Mr Miliband's office.

Another moderate MP said: 'Ed needs to get a grip, and fast.'

Other sources suggest several members of the shadow Cabinet remain in a 'state of mourning' over David Miliband's failure to win the party leadership as expected.

One MP said: 'There are some people who are still not reconciled to the fact that David Miliband is not leader. Even though they have agreed to serve in the shadow Cabinet, they aren't trying very hard.'
Embarrassing splits have emerged between Mr Miliband and shadow Chancellor Alan Johnson over the 50p top rate of tax and the grip of the trade unions over Labour.

A two-year policy review designed to give the party a fresh platform to fight the next election could leave the party directionless for too long, some fear.

A former Cabinet minister said: 'There is a real problem if a leader does not define himself to the public and that is what is currently happening. Ed left himself open to Cameron to come back at him because he has yet to explain what he stands for.'

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1335010/Ed-Miliband-aide-snipes-World-Cup-bid-Pimp-Camerons-hypocrite-Twitter.html#ixzz17205F4HL