Al Murray is 'not news', but he has vehemently objected to being mentioned in Nick Clegg's Liberal Democrat conference speech
Clegg’s address, the last he will deliver ahead of the elections in May, touched on the comedian's 'no' campaign contribution during referendum

Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Al Murray might have been praised by Nick Clegg for his part in saving the Union ahead of the Scottish referendum.
But the comedian, famed for his pub landlord character, was less than impressed about receiving the nod from the Deputy Prime Minister during his Liberal Democrat conference keynote speech.
Clegg’s address, the last that he will deliver to his party ahead of the elections in May, touched on the ‘No’ campaign’s success in the Scottish referendum, which, he said, was helped by the rally held by Murray and Sir Bob Geldof in Trafalgar Square, London, days before the polls opened.
He recalled Murray describing “something wonderfully vague about being British”.
“'After all,' he said, 'that's why we call ourselves Brit-ish.' And it's true. You can be British as well as Scottish, English, Northern Irish, Welsh-ish.”
“ATTENTION WORLD'S MEDIA,” Murray tweeted, washing his hands of any association with the DPM. “This Clegg business is nothing to do with me.”
He then proceeded to tweet his own list of pub-focused political demands, before declaring himself to be “not news” - despite his call for the attention of the world’s media hours beforehand.
“Who in their right mind would vote Lib Dem ever again?” one user tweeted at Murray.
“Not me ha ha ha,” he responded.
Murray last became “not news” in August, after he described Russell Brand’s revolutionary politics, including encouraging voters to spoil their ballot papers, as not “far off a fascist idea”.
“That’s not his intention, obviously. He’s trying to show the powers-that-be. But fascists are very keen on people not voting.”
“I’m not calling him a fascist there, by the way,” he added.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments