if you can't stand the heat, get out of your second kitchen ed miliband today sought to cool the row over his unusual domestic arrangements, insisting he prefers the 'functional kitchenette' where he was seen posing for tv cameras the labour leader, who has repeatedly insisted he is not interested in photo opportunities,was filmed sipping tea at home with his wife justine in a modest kitchen at his £2million north london home now it has emerged that the image of the labour leader as a man of the people with a run of the mill home was not all it appeared for mr miliband actually lives in a house with two kitchens the godmother to one of mr miliband's children tonight revealed that the kitchen ed miliband and his wife were pictured in was in fact a 'functional kitchenette' next to the family's sitting room  jenni russell, a newspaper columnist, said the kitchen mr miliband was pictured in was used for 'tea and quick snacks' and insisted the family's main kitchen was 'lovely' the poky room the couple were pictured in, albeit with an oven and hob, was revealed last night by a family friend to be a 'functional kitchenette' for 'tea and quick snacks' the revelation opened up the labour leader to claims that he was trying to make his family life look more humble than it is, even though his home is reputed to be worth £25million and 'two kitchens' miliband invites unwelcome comparisons with the controversy over john prescott for having 'two jags' today mr miliband denied choosing to be filmed in the smaller kitchen because it was less imposing 'the house we bought had a kitchen downstairs when we bought it,' he told the birmingham mail  'and it is not the one we use we use the small one upstairs' pressed again on why he was shown in the smaller kitchen, mr miliband added: 'this is the kitchen justine and i use' he joked: 'i think justine would probably say she wishes i'd spend more time in the kitchen' daily mail columnist sarah vine, the wife of tory chief whip michael gove, wrote an article in yesterday's paper sympathising over the 'forlorn' kitchen as depicted on bbc news on tuesday evening she wrote: 'very rarely do i feel sorry for ed miliband, but seeing him standing there in his forlorn little kitchen, staring into the middle distance while sipping from a stripy blue and white mug, part of me wanted to rush home from work, sling some jolly painted crockery in a bag and head over there with a tin of home made brownies 'surely that can't really be ed and justine's kitchen? all that lovely huge, fancy house, and that is where they do their cooking? 'i hope for their sake that it's actually their utility room, and that some bossy spin doctor has shoved them in there to make their £2million plus townhouse in north london's trendy kentish town look less fabulous and to bolster ed's man o' the people image' in his christmas card last year, mr miliband posed with his wife and children in what appeared to be a larger kitchen  mrs miliband, a child actress turned barrister, is expected to make a series of high profile appearances in the run up to polling day  yesterday this prompted jenni russell, the times political commentator and family friend, to come to the labour leader's defence – by revealing his actual kitchen is 'lovely' she tweeted: 'ed miliband's kitchen is lovely daily mail pix: the functional kitchenette by sitting room for tea and quick snacks' mr miliband is godfather to her child when a twitter user expressed surprise, she replied: 'it's not 2 kitchens! more like times' tea prep area can't even sit in it' last night tory mp nigel adams said: 'clearly there's no cost of living crisis for 'two kitchens' miliband 'it's a bit rich lecturing people about poverty from his £2million mansion red ed can try as much as he likes to portray himself as a man of the people but the only people he's in touch with are the north london metropolitan elite' last night a labour party spokesman declined to comment
miliband justine tories jags prescott'
mr miliband has a second kitchen for 'tea and snacks' next to sitting room . revelation comes after he posed with his wife justine in small 'kitchenette'. godmother to one of mr miliband's children revealed second kitchen . tories dub him 'two kitchens miliband' echoing 'two jags prescott' jibe 