23 May 2006

Don’t sneer at British values

Sir: While I enjoy Mark Steel’s wit, he has gone too far in his sneering remarks about British values (17 May). He has not experienced living in countries where values we take for granted are non-existent. He would not be able to write regular columns slagging off politicians and other powerful interests.

I came to this country from Kenya, along with many others, and it was the compassion of ordinary English, Scottish, Welsh and Irish people that helped us settle here. Amongst us there were the elderly, illiterate, disabled; all were absorbed in the system and given an opportunity to progress. A neighbour used to come and teach my mother English, a gesture we cannot forget.

People like her and many unsung heroes, among them teachers, doctors and nurses, filled those essential gaps in our lives. It was British values that allowed us to freely practise our faiths. It was British values that created such institutions as Commission for Racial Equality.

There is much to celebrate in modern Britain and it is right that new comers to this country are made aware of it. A British value that Mark might know of is ”benefit of the doubt”. We were given that and we grasped it and came out winners. The continuous berating of British life is music to those would like to see it destroyed.

NITIN MEHTA
CROYDON,SURREY