"Leader of the Opposition has illegitimate son"

I'm sure that is what the headlines would have said in my younger days, and although this would now not be said in public, the fact remains correct.

Somewhat more interesting is the photograph, in the Daily Mail, of a copy of the birth certificate of what he claims to be his first child.

Although the father's name is not given, and the mother is Justine THORNTON, the child's name is given as Daniel Ralph Thornton MILIBAND.

I understood that some years ago, registrars were instructed that a single mother was not to be allowed to claim any surname for the child except her own unless the father was present at the registration and gave his consent. This followed a number of cases where single mothers had given the name of some celebrity, presumably for the publicity, or a convenient local male, possibly in the hope of coercing him into marriage or paying maintenance.

Surely this rule should have been applied, after all, even if Miliband had given his written consent (he couldn't find the time to go along to the registrar), the registrar would then have entered him as the father.