Chairman of the Spectator and BBC political presenter Andrew Neil has defended the song Rule Britannia following a wave of criticism directed at the BBC when it came to light they did not plan to play the lyrics of the world-famous song but only do an instrumental.
Mr Neil was responding to a Tweet from Cat Lewis, Exec Producer of BBC’s Songs of Praise and a self-appointed ‘Campaigner for a better world’ according to her Twitter Bio, she said: “Do those Brits who believe it’s ok to sing an 18th Century song about never being enslaved, written when the UK was enslaving and killing millions of innocents, also believe it’s appropriate for neo-Nazis to shout, “We will never be forced into a gas chamber.” #RuleBritannia”
To these comments, Mr Neil took exception and responded by writing: “If Britannia had not ruled the waves there would never have been a Royal Navy strong enough to abolish the slave trade, intercepting 1,600 ships and freeing 150,000 Africans while sustaining major casualties. Guess it’s too late to delete your tweet …”
He followed up by later Tweeting: “I might also add that because the Royal Navy with allied ships dominated the Channel in 1944, we were able to launch D-Day, which was the beginning of the end for the Nazi Holocaust.”
I might also add that because the Royal Navy with allied ships dominated the Channel in 1944, we were able to launch D-Day, which was the beginning of the end for the Nazi Holocaust. https://t.co/yqDkd9VAST
— Andrew Neil (@afneil) August 25, 2020
Mr Neil’s comments come as Prime Minister Boris Johnson chimed into the issue to say he believed Britons needed to stop being ashamed of our history.
The Prime Minister told reporters: “I cannot believe… that the BBC is saying that they will not sing the words of Land Of Hope And Glory or Rule Britannia! as they traditionally do at the end of The Last Night of The Proms.
“I think it’s time we stopped our cringing embarrassment about our history, about our traditions, and about our culture, and we stopped this general fight of self-recrimination and wetness.
“I wanted to get that off my chest.”
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Editor-in-Chief | Carl D. Pearson has been involved in British politics and media from an early age, with the key knowledge of what it takes to run a news organisation for the 21st century. Mr Pearson, as Editor-in-chief, is responsible for supervising the daily tasks of publishing media and content to UNN’s website and various platforms.
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