Identity and terrorism - a step too far?...
by Rachel Briggs
In a speech today he argues that we need a new British identity, one that allows us to be "British first and British last, while staunchly adhering to our respective faiths".
Of course we need to open up this debate, and Demos has plans for some work in the area in the Autumn and into next year. But Howard misunderstands the nature of the challenge we face when he says seemingly makes a direct link between a crisis of identity and suicide bombers:
"If we can establish this strong sense of shared British identity it will fill the void that to some extent exists, which is often filled by philosophies and views that are utterly alien to our society, which breed hatred of our society and which ultimately lead to the kind of catastrophe we saw on 7 July."