TW
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As regular readers of this column will know I was raised on Majorca but it was very much an "English upbringing". My father had served in the Royal Air Force during the war and his father had been at the Battle of the Somme. My mother would recount to me the story of how she watched the Battle of Britain being fought out over the skies of Kent as a child.

I have always been very proud of my English roots and when I was 17 it was either the Majorca Daily Bulletin or the Royal Navy. Luckily for the Senior Service I chose the Bulletin! I have never considered taking out Spanish nationality despite my love for this country and its people. I was born British and will remain British. But I think for the first time in my 46 years over the last few months I have no longer felt that pride in being an Englishman. One of my Spanish colleagues has spent the last 27 years ribbing me about the British and their ways. I have always held the thin red line. But this week, during one of her charges at the British, I found myself agreeing with her.

You see, I don’t think that Brexit has brought out the best in Britain. The referendum was won on immigration; yes, too many foreigners. This from a country which gave home and shelter to thousands of people who were being persecuted across the European continent during the Second World War. Yes, immigration has to be controlled but those beautiful words - fair play - appear to be missing in Britain in these post-Brexit referendum months.

The latest "gem" from Lord Michael Howard, who suggested that Britain could send a Task Force to Gibraltar, shows this rather outdated and dangerous attitude which resides in some parts of Britain at the moment. The Spanish Foreign Minister rather summed it up when he said that it appeared that Britain had lost its composure. Spot on. I sincerely hope that it gets it back soon and starts behaving again like a country which was once known as Great Britain.