Lord Kinnock praises Biden win decades after stolen speech row

Not many people can say their words were stolen by a man who would go on to be president, but Neil Kinnock can.

In 1988 Joe Biden was forced to pull out of his race for the White House after plagiarising large parts of one of the former UK Labour leader's speeches.

Now, three decades on, Lord Kinnock has praised Biden on his US-election win.

He has spoken of a meeting where Mr Biden joked he was his "greatest speech writer".

Mr Biden defeat of incumbent President Donald Trump was declared on Saturday following a cliff-hanger vote count after Tuesday's election.

While counting continues, and Mr Trump has challenged the result and vowed to launch legal action, the BBC and others have projected Mr Biden's victory

Gains in the key battlegrounds of Pennsylvania and Nevada propelled him over the 270 electoral college votes required to win.

But in 1988 his race to the White House ended in embarrassment rather than victory.

Biden, then a senator, had been one of the favourites for the Democratic nomination before having to pull out.

Following Biden's projected victory, Lord Kinnock, the former Islwyn MP, told AFP that he would "ensure great service to the USA, and, indeed, to the world".

"He's got a hell of a tough task in the present conditions of crisis," said Lord Kinnock, who led Labour between 1983 and 1992.

"But he's a truly tough guy, and you can tell that because he just gets on with the job and doesn't boastfully proclaim his toughness continually like the last fellow - what's his name?".

Lord Kinnock recalled his last meeting with Biden, at the Democrat's Senate office, in 2007.

He said Biden jokingly introduced him as his "greatest ever speechwriter".

During the visit to Washington, Lord Kinnock said they met for a "convivial supper" and Biden told him that an up-and-coming senator called Barack Obama would likely become the next Democratic president.

"Sadly, I didn't place a bet," said Kinnock, who was invited by Biden to attend Obama's 2009 inauguration, when Biden became vice president.

In 2019, outgoing President Trump caused a stir on Twitter after mistakenly tweeting he had met the "Prince of Whales".

And earlier this year he retweeted criticism of lockdowns plans in Wales over the winter, sparking criticism of his own handling of the pandemic from First Minister Mark Drakeford.