British city bans term 'British'

We read:

"The word `British' can be as offensive as `negro' and `half-caste', according to a race relations body. The publicly-funded organisation's views have been adopted by Caerphilly council in South Wales for a leaflet advising staff on how to deal with the public.

In a section on what words or phrases not to use to avoid causing offence, the leaflet solemnly informs the council's 9,000 workers: `The idea of "British" implies a false sense of unity - many Scots, Welsh and Irish resist being called British and the land denoted by the term contains a wide variety of cultures, languages and religions.'

The suggestion the word `British' should be avoided appears alongside similar sections which warn that `half-caste' implies `a person is not whole and so should be avoided' and that `negro' has `racist overtones and is linked with the slave trade'.

But Tory MP David Davies, MP for Monmouth said: `There's absolutely nothing offensive about describing people as British.

Source