LONDON, Dec 8: Clearly worried over what is widely perceived here as a rising threat to the ‘British way of life’ from people coming in from ‘intolerant societies,’ Prime Minister Tony Blair declared here on Friday that there was no place in Britain for ‘hate mongers’ whatever their race, religion or creed.
Delivering a lecture on multiculturalism and integration here on Friday morning, Mr Blair asked intending migrants not to come to Britain if they didn’t want to conform to British values.
He said people entering the UK must be prepared to be tolerant or not become part of British society.
That the suicide bombings in London on July 7 last year was never far from his mind while he was making the speech was borne out by the fact that he especially mentioned the tragedy and said it had thrown the whole concept of a multicultural Britain "into sharp relief."
He defended multiculturalism, saying it should be celebrated.
Mr Blair also announced a crackdown on funding for religious and racial groups, saying in the future they would have to prove they aimed to promote community integration.
It was important to "demonstrate and underline what is meant by integration in modern Britain," he said.
Perhaps losing patience with groups which have been promoting their own particular cultural values at the cost of what is believed to be British values and even forcibly defending them, he said that Britain made a mistake in giving taxpayer’s money to religious and race groups.
The prime minister said handouts “to organisations tightly bonded around religious, racial or ethnic identities” must stop because they were discouraging integration in the UK.
He said that in future faith groups applying for funding would first be tested on their willingness to integrate with wider British society.
He said of previous handouts: “Very good intentions got the better of us.
“We wanted to be hospitable to new groups. We wanted, rightly, to extend a welcome and did so by offering public money to entrench their cultural presence.”
He continued: “In the future, we will assess bids from groups of any ethnicity or any religious denomination, also against a test, where appropriate, of promoting community cohesion and integration.”
"The right to be in a multi-cultural society was always implicitly balanced by a duty to integrate, to be part of Britain, to be British and Asian, British and black, British and white," he said
"When it comes to our essential values -- belief in democracy, the rule of law, tolerance, equal treatment for all, respect for this country and its shared heritage -- then that is where we come together, it is what we hold in common.
"We are a nation comfortable with the open world of today," he said.
"If you come here lawfully, we welcome you. If you are permitted to stay here permanently, you become an equal member of our community and become one of us.”
