Little, little Englander

The disturbing verbal diarrhoea of The Sun's Fergus Shanahan

The initial instinct would be to call it the most racist article seen in years. Even for a rag like The Sun, this week's column by deputy editor Fergus Shanahan was out of order. And, though at Hagley Road we don't subscribe to an overly liberal use of the word, there are times it makes sense to call someone 'racist'. But at a closer scrutiny "Pass the coke Kate...Gord's having a party" looks more like the work of a seriously disturbed person than simple racism.

A hosepipe-style rant against everything that isn't white, Anglo-Saxon, little England, the Royals and arch-Tory, it starts off as a scathing attack against…guess who… Gordon Brown, and it soon veers to a swirl of ignorant, nasty remarks against Albanians, Muslims, Europe, Kate Moss and much more. Shanahan is certainly second to none in egging himself on. One thing is to slag off Brown & Co. but to then spiral into pure verbal diarrhoea that includes racism, the floods, King Arthur, Fred West, a National Drunkards' Day, images of a drunken Gordon as well as "gay Gordons" in Trafalgar Square, the bulldog from Churchill insurance and Brussels bureaucrats is more like the work of a maniac.

And that isn't even half of it. As he sneers upon the notion of "Community cultural activities", Mr Shanahan comes up with the slightly sweeping "So Albanian and Turkish drug gangs can knife each other to death in London while Muslim fanatics plot the next 7/7. Nothing like rubbing along together".

Just note the logical somersault. The little Englander hears "community cultural activities" and he works himself up to the tune of every Albanian or Turk being called a drug-trafficker and each British Muslim a jihads terrorist.

But I guess it's time to rejoice, Mr Shanahan. Some people in certain pockets of England are already putting your everyone-must-go views into practice.