Up the Empire

ANDREW Gray’s letter (6 April) made interesting if sad reading. All that seemed to be missing from the epistle was look at all the red on the map and “Up the Empire”.

People who face facts are accused of talking Britain down. The fact is that the United Kingdom is a second-rate power on the fringes of Europe.

The European Union is basically run by Germany and France, Britain is basically run by the United States; the only reason that anyone pays any attention to the mouthings of the British government is that they understand that such output has probably been cleared by the White House.

Regarding reference to the good that the UK has done in the world, anyone studying history might well arrive at a rather different conclusion. The devious machinations of the British government over the past couple of centuries are a wonder to behold, from force-feeding opium to the Chinese to ratting on the Arabs in Palestine and passing over considerable skulduggery in Europe. Is it any wonder that the phrase “Perfidious Albion” was coined?

R Mill Irving

Station Road

Gifford, East Lothian