A growing number of people believe that to be truly British, you must be born in Britain, according to a new poll showing a sharp hardening of public attitudes around national identity.
The survey found the proportion of respondents who think Britishness depends on birthplace has doubled over the past two years.
Discussing the findings on GB News, Sanctuary Foundation founder Krish Kandiah warned against reducing British identity to “the accident of where you happen to be born”.
Acording to the survey about one-third of people thought a person must be born in Britain to be truly British, up from one in five in 2023, a YouGov poll carried out this month for the thinktank found.
He told Britain's News Channel: "I think we’re in an interesting moment in our culture.
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"But as you say, this poll shows that the number of people who think being British is the same as being born here has doubled in the last two years. That is an interesting change.
"If you think about it, that would exclude people like Prince Philip, who was born in Corfu, from being British.
"I can’t think of anything more British than the Royal Family, yet it would exclude him or Boris Johnson, who was born in New York simply because he was born in the wrong country.
"Freddie Mercury, Mo Farah it’s a bizarre idea that your Britishness is based on where you’re born rather than your commitment to this place.
"Whether you are going to be a good neighbour, whether you demonstrate the values we cherish in this country should matter far more than the accident of where you happen to be born."
Krish Kandiah said that the birthplace does not make you British
|GB NEWS
The comments come after Alaa Abd El-Fattah arrived in the UK from Egypt on Boxing Day, greeted by glowing messages from ministers welcoming him to Britain.
But the warm reception soon unravelled when historic social media posts resurfaced, which were later condemned as “abhorrent” by Reform UK leader Nigel Farage.
In a late-night statement, the activist acknowledged he “should have known better” but said he had been left “shaken” by the backlash triggered by his own remarks.
"I am shaken that, just as I am being reunited with my family for the first time in 12 years, several historic tweets of mine have been republished and used to question and attack my integrity and values, escalating to calls for the revocation of my citizenship," he said.
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Alaa Abdel Fattah has liked a Facebook post claiming 'Zionists' are behind a 'campaign' against him | GETTY"Looking at the tweets now - the ones that were not completely twisted out of their meaning - I do understand how shocking and hurtful they are, and for that I unequivocally apologise.
"They were mostly expressions of a young man's anger and frustrations in a time of regional crises (the wars on Iraq, on Lebanon and Gaza), and the rise of police brutality against Egyptian youth.
"I particularly regret some that were written as part of online insult battles with the total disregard for how they read to other people.
“I should have known better."
Mr Abd el-Fattah was detained in Egypt in September 2019 and later sentenced in December 2021 to five years in prison on charges of spreading false news.
During his imprisonment, a wide coalition of activists, politicians and celebrities campaigned for him to be brought to the UK.
The Prime Minister previously described securing his transfer to Britain as a “top priority”.
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