Clegg on the Daily Mail: Overflowing with bile about modern Britain

I noted earlier this week that the Daily Mail's attacks on Ed Miliband's father have echoes of the smears the paper has peddled about Nick Clegg and his family over the years.

And on his 'Call Clegg' radio phone-in today the Lib Dem leader didn't shy away from mounting a full-frontal assault on the Mail pointing out that what it represents is utterly opposed to the British values of decency, tolerance and fair play. Here's how the Guardian's Andrew Sparrow reports it:

"Wow. That was striking. Nick Clegg has got form for criticising the Daily Mail - the Lib Dems have never worried particularly about what the Mail says about them, and Clegg has been bolder in the past than other party leaders in having a go at it - but today he surpassed himself. Here's his broadside in full. It came, of course, when he was asked about the Daily Mail's coverage of Ed Miliband's father."

"My honest reaction was that when I heard the Daily Mail accusing someone of saying that they did not like Britain, I'm not a regular reader of this newspaper but every time I do open it, it just seems to be overflowing with bile about modern Britain. They don't like working mothers, they don't like the BBC, they don't like members of the royal family, they don't like teachers, they don't like the English football team. The list goes on. So talk about kettles and pots … It seems to me that if anyone excels in denigrating and often vilifying a lot about modern Britain, it's the Daily Mail".

All together now: I agree with Nick…

John Wheaver - Kettering and Wellingborough comments

Nick Clegg was quite polite about the Daily Mail.

I am glad he at least said that the Mail stands out as a hater of Britain, especially British values. Almost the worst thing is that the Mail team are not even honest racists; they pretend to be vile, despicable, ignorant and stupid because it is the lynch-mob - looking for anything to gang up against - who will buy a paper that gives them some appearance of normality.

I don't believe they are really against metrication or a fair voting system - they are very stupid but not that stupid. I don't think they hate Bulgarians - they are unprincipled but not that unprincipled. They know what issues are easy to call up to whip up emotion (a bit of phoney patriotism is cheap easy fodder - like Fahrenheit and the avoirdupois weight system being true British! The wicked EU are forcing us to be sensible). No, these 'views' just sell papers to a gullible and often brutish mob. And why do so many Britons believe outrageously false figures about benefit claimants, false claims, percentage of immigrants, and many false stories about EU regulations? Not from BBC or ITV.