Ed Miliband egging was 'dad's protest' (From Daily Echo)

New Fathers 4 Justice claims egg attack on Labour leader was over access for dads

11:41am Sunday 6th May 2012 in Southampton By Jon Reeve , Education Reporter

THE man who egged Labour leader Ed Miliband in Southampton was protesting at the party’s lack of support for dads, it has been claimed.

Campaign group New Fathers 4 Justice, which campaigns for fairer treatment for dads over access to their children, said it has been contacted by a man from Chandler’s Ford saying he was behind the attack.

As reported, the politician was left with egg smeared all over his suit jacket as he was interviewed shortly after giving a celebratory speech in Shirley to mark Labour’s sweeping council election win in Southampton.

He was approached by a man in a dark jacket and black hat, who slammed the egg on his shoulder before running off down Shirley High Street.

The Leader of the Opposition laughed the incident off and carried on his interview once an aide had removed his jacket, but left Shirley shortly afterwards.

New Fathers 4 Justice - which is not connected to controversial group Fathers 4 Justice, set up by Winchester dad Matt O’Connor, which staged several stunts where men dressed as superheroes invaded high-profile public buildings – said it is now looking into the man’s claims.

The organisation said the dad who contacted them said he had carried out the egging stunt “in protest at his and the Labour party's lack of support for changes to the family justice system”.

NF4J said in a statement: “We are at present not able to confirm this information but hope to be able to soon as the man involved is joining our activist cell in the area.”