Portuguese academic says British are 'filthy, violent and drunk'
A top physics don, João Magueijo, has written a book decrying British hygiene as well as what he describes as a violent, drunken culture.
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.In a book describing his experiences of living in the UK a Portuguese academic based at Imperial College London has some strong words about British culture, the Daily Telegraph has reported. In the book he describes English culture as “pathologically violent” and criticises British boozing and uncleanliness.
"When you visit English homes, or the toilets at schools or in student lodgings, they are all so disgusting that even my grandmother's poultry cage is cleaner," Magueijo writes.
Magueijo’s book is called “Bifes Mal Passados” which means “uncooked beef” and it has so far sold 20,000 copies in Portugal. There are no plans as yet to translate it from Portuguese in to English. The cover of the book shows a picture of man wearing a bowler hat standing in front of Big Ben.
As well as having poor standards of hygiene, Magueijo says the English are “always fighting."
"I have never met such a group of animals. English culture is pathologically violent” he writes.
He is also alarmed by the amount that the British drink – telling an anecdote from his time as an academic at the University of Cambridge where he saw a female student vomit at a dinner and then carry on “as if nothing had happened.”
"It is not unusual to drink 12 pints, or two huge buckets of beer, per person," he writes. "Even a horse would get drunk with this but in England it is standard practice.”
Magueijo, who is a cosmologist and professor in theoretical physics at Imperial, has told the Sunday Times that his book will not cause too much offense saying: “I do not fear any backlash. I trust the British sense of humour.”
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments