Defeated Miliband pitches for TV roles

(GENIA SAVILOV/AFP)

David Miliband, the former foreign secretary, is considering a role in television after losing the Labour leadership contest last year.

The MP for South Shields, whose brother Ed became leader of the Opposition in September, has approached the BBC with several programme ideas, all of which would involve him taking a role on screen.

If Mr Miliband is successful, the move would prompt comparisons with Michael Portillo, the former Tory cabinet minister who has gone on to front television documentaries and to appear on radio shows after his attempts to lead the Conservative Party came to nothing.

Unlike Mr Portillo, who left the House of Commons in 2005, Mr Miliband remains an MP. There has been intense speculation about the elder Miliband's intentions since his defeat by his brother. Senior Labour figures have urged David to join the Shadow Cabinet but he has so far resisted. His spokesman said yesterday: "David is talking to a range of organisations about his interest in foreign and environmental policy."