British minister discovers Russian relative - on a radio show

Oct 8, 2009, 8:04 GMT

London - Britain's Climate Change Secretary, Ed Miliband, has discovered a long-lost relative in Russia who identified herself on a radio interview during his recent visit to Moscow, it was reported Thursday.

Miliband, whose brother David is Foreign Secretary, was taking questions on a Moscow radio station when an elderly woman rung in and said in Russian: 'I am Sofia Davidovna Miliband, I am your relative - I am the only one left.'

Although radio staff were initially concerned that the call was a hoax and cut her short, Miliband went to meet the 87-year-old former academic.

They deduced that Miliband's great-great-grandfather was the brother of Sofia's grandfather, who were both born in the Jewish quarter of Warsaw in Poland.

Miliband told BBC radio it had been a 'magical experience' and said his relative was 'an amazing woman.'

'It's great, and a very moving and fantastic experience for me,' he said.

'I did sort of vaguely know when I was a kid about her existence. The way I know about it, if you look on a library computer her name pops up ... It was just amazing for me to come face to face with her and she really thought it was a great thing.'

Miliband said Sofia had not been particularly impressed by his position, nor that of brother David, in the British government, but had promised to stay in touch.

'I think she was much less interested in what David or I do than in making the family connection and realizing she wasn't the last Miliband around and that there was a branch of the family in Britain.'