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#Milifandom Teen Gets 'Amazing Call' From Miliband After The Sun Journalists Doorstep Her And Her Family

#milifandom teen Gets Call From Miliband After The Sun Journalists Doorknock Her Family
Steven Hopkins
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The teenager behind the #Milifandom movement has had a supportive call from her political crush - Ed Miliband - having revealed her family's anguish at being doorstepped at their homes by tabloid journalists.

Last night Abby, 17, tweeted that she had received an "amazing phone call with someone amazing and it was amazing", before clarifying that Miliband had "just totally rang me up".

Yesterday the teenager, whose movement led to a torrent of tweets sweeping Miliband to social media fame - and even a movie being made of him, Milibae: The Movie - spoke of how journalists from The Sun had visited both of her parents' homes, as well as her grandmother, a day after the story broke about her fandom on April 21.

Abbey, pictured in a #Milifandom t-shirt, in an image taken from her Twitter account, was called by her political crush, Ed Miliband

Abby told BuzzFeed of the journalists' visits: “My mum said no, and asked how she knew my address. She said the electoral roll – but I’m not on it as I’m 17 and am not registered to vote. I then also got a text from my dad asking me why he and my grandma both had Sun reporters at their door."

Abby's grandmother, who lives alone "was not impressed", and her family were "all very freaked out" by the newspapers ability to find them, as the teenager had not revealed her full name or location in her online postings.

Abby last night sent the following message about The Sun owner, Rupert Murdoch to all the contacts in her phone, before tweeting it to her ever-growing number of followers.

The teenager said that The Sun journalist who visited her mother claimed to have tracked her down through information that had run in The Guardian, that her family lived in St Helens. She said that information was wrong.

Another Sun journalist, Jake Ryan, tweeted to say she was found through the electoral roll, making it "no great mystery".

Story continues below

#milifandom teen Abby speaks out
Abby(01 of21)
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Abby, the teenager behind the #milifandom movement
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A still from Milibae: The Movie, shows a Hen's Do shower the Labour leader in selfies
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Abby's online campaign to back Ed Miliband is discussed on Sky News
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Labour Party leader Ed Miliband (centre) during a campaign visit to Harrow in London. (credit:Chris Radburn/PA Wire)
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Labour leader Ed Miliband is hugged by his wife Justine as he arrives during a campaign visit to Harrow in London. (credit:Chris Radburn/PA Wire)
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Labour leader Ed Miliband is hugged by his wife Justine as he arrives during a campaign visit to Harrow in London. (credit:Chris Radburn/PA Wire)
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Labour Party leader Ed Miliband speaks during a campaign visit to Harrow in London. (credit:Chris Radburn/PA Wire)
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LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM - MAY 02: With five days to go before the UK general elections, Labour leader Ed Miliband delivers a speech during a campaign rally at the Royal Horticultural Halls on May 2, 2015 in London, United Kingdom. The audience was by invitation only and filled the hall with happy supporters and an enthusiastic crowd for a very American-style campaign event. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) (credit:Chip Somodevilla via Getty Images)
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LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM - MAY 02: With five days to go before the UK general elections, Labour leader Ed Miliband delivers a speech during a campaign rally at the Royal Horticultural Halls on May 2, 2015 in London, United Kingdom. The audience was by invitation only and filled the hall with happy supporters and an enthusiastic crowd for a very American-style campaign event. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) (credit:Chip Somodevilla via Getty Images)
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Britain's Labour leader Ed Miliband takes part in an Election Leaders' special Question Time with the three main party leaders appearing separately, in Leeds Town Hall, in Leeds, England, Thursday, April 30, 2015. Britain goes to the polls in a General Election on May 7. ( Stefan Rousseau/Pool Photo via AP) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)

A spokesperson from The Sun said the newspaper and its journalists had done nothing wrong, saying Abby's address was "discovered through completely legal means from information in the public domain."

A statement went on to say: "A female journalist was sent to see if there was any scope for comment, and her mother said 'No'. This journalist did not see nor speak to Abby, but did leave a business card in case Abby changed her mind.

"The Editors' Code prevents journalists from interviewing children under the age of 16 without consent. Even though Abby is 17, The Sun first sought to speak to her parents. The Sun has still not spoken to Abby at all, unlike various other newspapers, and no story has been published. We entirely respect her wishes not to speak to us.

"We do not think our behaviour - which follows standard journalistic practice - was in breach of the Editors' Code or in any way unethical."

SEE ALSO

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