ALTHOUGH I have not read the letter by Mr Backhouse, I did read with amazement Peter Johnson’s letter, “Multiculturalism” (November 12), in response to it, and his question as to what essential elements of Englishness are put at risk by its introduction. He goes back in history to put forward a view, which I accept, that Multiculturalism is not new. The presence of today’s multiculture, however, bears little resemblance to its introduction some years ago.

As a pensioner in my late 70s, I would ask him to consider the following list of apparent ways of life currently evident in our country — drug trading and taking; gun and knife crime; fraudulent benefit claims; ghettos developing; terrorism; covered faces walking our streets; dozens of languages spoken in schools and everyday life; mosques in their hundreds across the country; widespread dependence on the State; uncontrolled drunkenness by so many youngsters; non-acceptance of our former “Englishness” by many people.

I could go on. All of these were almost unheard of prior to the mass influx of people from all over the world. By the way, I didn’t see much evidence of multiculturalism at the Remembrance Sunday ceremony this year.

Mr Johnson must surely recognise the massive changes to the English, or British, way of life over the last 12 years, during which, reportedly, the Government deliberately forced multiculturalism on us by its immigration policy. He is, however, right in saying that Englishness is not being put at risk by multiculturalism. It is already lost to it. The “threat” is not the simple notion, to use Mr Johnson’s words, “that everyone should wear whatever they want”. If only it was so simple.

It is not only Englishness being lost, but non-Englishness being introduced that has changed the way of life as we once knew it. This is the real threat. Perhaps people like me do not live in the “real world” of today, as the saying goes — an expression often used to describe any objectors to these changes.

I realise we can’t turn the clock back, and I don't deny that some aspects of the way we live have improved by some of the changes mentioned in Mr Johnson’s letter, and these I welcome. We should be allowed to express our concerns, however, at some of the unwelcome changes that have happened in this country, without the probability of being held as prejudiced or worse. I don’t mean to suggest that Mr Johnson holds those views about people like me, but many people do. We used to have this freedom of speech — another loss of Englishness?

I have never written to express my feelings to any newspaper before today. Nevertheless, I feel so strongly about this subject that I felt the need to state my view.

Concerned Englishman Name and address supplied