Keep flying the flag, Blunkett tells Britons

The Home Secretary called on Britons last night to continue "reclaiming the flag" – after the Queen's golden jubilee and the World Cup – to prevent symbols of patriotism being hijacked by the far right.

In a call for unity and racial tolerance, David Blunkett said the "vast majority" of British people were not racist. His appeal followed comments by the Director of Public Prosecutions, David Calvert-Smith, who said racism was pervasive in British society. Mr Blunkett told the Social Market Foundation think-tank in London that a race equality advisory panel had been set up to help ministers make policy. But he stressed responsibility for dealing with racism lay with wider society. He said: "The 'reclaiming of the flag' for the golden jubilee and the World Cup must be sustained if we are to see off the BNP and the National Front in their efforts to foster fear, mistrust, and exploit concerns that emerge at a time of change." He said class inequality and workplace prejudice were holding back many from ethnic-minority backgrounds.