Ken Follett, author of Eye of the Needle and Pillars of the Earth, has given the ailing Ed Balls campaign £100,000. Mr Follett – whose wife is Barbara Follett, former Labour MP (1997-2010) – is one of Labour’s more loyal supporters in the arts world.
His next book, incidentally, is called Fall of Giants.
Meanwhile David Miliband has received £10,000 fro Sir Gulam Noon, the curry tycoon, while Jamie Carragher, the Liverpool player, has given £10,000 to Andy Burnham… the Everton fan.
UPDATE – So why is Follett funding a campaign most believe to be doomed? David Hughes at the Telegraph has an intriguing suggestion – perhaps it is an ancient vendetta against Tony Blair and all who surround him (including, therefore, David Miliband). Follett has apparently previously called Blair “immoral, unmanly and lacking conviction”. Is that why he is such a fan of Ed Balls?
Jim Pickard
Kiran Stacey