Freud warns Starmer against chasing ‘Sun’ endorsement
The PR guru Matthew Freud, who was married to Rupert Murdoch’s daughter Elisabeth, has warned Sir Keir Starmer against chasing an election endorsement from The Sun.
In a rare broadcast interview Mr Freud, the influential communications chief who advises prime ministers and celebrities, said democracy is being undermined by politicians seeking to win the favour of his former father-in-law.
Mr Freud told the Labour leader that standing firm against newspaper
demands to sack under-fire deputy Angela Rayner is now a key test of his credentials to become prime minister.
Appearing on the BBC Sounds podcast When It Hits The Fan, Mr Freud was asked by former Sun editor David Yelland why Sir Keir’s team was “having meetings with Rebekah Brooks [News UK CEO] and going full pelt for a Labour endorsement” from the newspaper.
Mr Freud replied: “I think if you live in a playground with bullies in it, if the bullies aren’t your friend, you lose your lunch money. It’s better to ignore them.”
A former Downing Street adviser to Tony Blair, Mr Freud, whose 13year marriage to Elisabeth Murdoch ended in 2014, said of 93-year-old media mogul, Rupert: “I suspect history will not judge him generously. Fox News is a terrible chapter. it wasn’t a news channel, it was created to be a propaganda machine.
“I think the company that was behind Fox News [News Corp] had performed a similar role in the British print media.”
On the podcast, he said that, if the Opposition party’s poll lead looks solid, Sir Keir will probably get the election endorsement Labour is seeking from The Sun since “what history has shown at News UK is they like to back a winner”. He advised Sir Keir to “ignore the media”.
Described as a member of the Oxfordshire “Chipping Norton” set, which once included Ms Brooks and David Cameron, Mr Freud said the former prime minister, and current Foreign Secretary, was the last Conservative leader worthy of Downing Street.
Mr Murdoch’s News UK, publisher of The Sun, declined to comment.