‘The day I discovered that I’m an Englishman’

‘IT’S A real mystery. I just can’t understand it.” Dr Jim Wilson, the widely experienced geneticist who had tested my DNA, was flustered.

“It’s never happened before, but I guess there could have been a mix-up at the labs. But the results definitely have ‘Alistair Moffat’ on all the labels, the code matches and everything is right – except the result.” What was the problem? “Your result doesn’t match any of the 39 men on the database with the surname Moffat. You just wouldn’t expect that.” By this time I was smiling. And at the same time having my faith in the accuracy of DNA testing redoubled.

“My Dad was an illegitimate child,” I told Jim, “and he took his mother’s name.” There was a longish pause at the other end of the phone. “Why didn’t you tell me, you…”

Jim Wilson and I had written a book, The Scots: A Genetic Journey and, in an effort to publicise our findings about Scotland’s hidden DNA history, I went on Radio 4’s Today programme. Jim Naughtie asked me what my DNA test had shown.

“Well,” I chose my words carefully, “my marker is S142 and it is common in Southern Denmark. It came to Britain around 500AD so I am almost certain that my ancestors were Angles, warbands who sailed the North Sea as part of the process known as the Anglo-Saxon invasions.”

Typically incisive, Jim retorted: “So you’re an Englishman.”

I explained that my ancestors had made landfall on the east coast of England, perhaps the Lincolnshire coast, and made their way north, settling in the Borders 13 centuries ago. At least it gives me options at Twickenham.

It must have been a slow news day for the Today programme because Jim and I had time to discuss the fascinating question of red hair in Scotland. At 13 per cent of the population, we have the largest proportion of redheads in the world. Two of my children have red hair. While others disagree, I believe it is a phenomenon linked to the period when Homo sapiens shared prehistoric Europe with Neanderthals. They undoubtedly mated and the Neanderthals passed on the red-hair gene. When I left the radio studio, my red-headed son, Adam, texted: “Cheers, Dad. Not only did you tell the nation that I’m descended from Neanderthals but, much worse, you told everybody I’m English.”

At the end of the Today interview I promised Naughtie, pictured, that I would send him a spit-kit so that he could have his own DNA tested. A few weeks later the results arrived. John Humphrys was Jim’s co-presenter and when I told the listeners that Naughtie’s marker was also likely to be Anglian, having been tested as M253+, the Welshman roared: “You’re not a Scotsman, you’re an Englishman!” Well, it was true, up to a point. Remarkably it turned out that Naughtie’s DNA marker was very similar to mine. But he is not a Borderer and hails from Banffshire. How did that work? It was in fact a near-perfect example of how history and genetics can inform each other. Like mine, his ancestors came from Southern Denmark and settled in the Borders. Macbeth became King of Scotland in 1040. King of Moray since 1032, he and his dynasty presented a real and continuing threat to that of Malcolm Canmore. His son, David I, came to the throne in 1124 and acted quickly to contain the restless north. Having held extensive lands in the Borders, he organised transplantations of loyal noblemen and their retainers to Moray. One of these groups almost certainly included Jim’s ancestors. DNA not only produces surprises, it also brings people together. Naughtie and I have known each other since he worked on The Scotsman. How interesting that some people might not consider us Scotsmen. But at Twickenham and Murrayfield, there never could be options.