The new leader of the Labour Party, Ed Miliband, has rejected the assertion that he has no mandate to lead the party,

Mr Miliband told Today presenter Sarah Montague that he had attracted more individual votes than any other candidate for the post and denied that the had taken the leadership "crown" from his brother David.

Admitting that he worried about his brother, Ed Miliband added that "most of all I worry about the country".

"We are moving to base camp to win back trust with the electorate," he said. "But unless we level with people..." on issues like the Iraq war, "I don't think we'll get a hearing."

Mr Miliband admitted that the last Labour government, "clearly didn't regulate the banks sufficiently" and challenged British companies to increase pay levels, adding "if you want lower Corporation Tax, pay a living wage".

He said that the government going about deficit reduction "in an incredibly dogmatic way" and that the Labour Party "should always be seeking to do more to cushion families from the effect of cuts".

Get in touch with Today via email , Twitter or Facebook or text us on 84844.