People in public office should swear allegiance to British values as part of a drive to combat extremism and foster integration, a government secretary said yesterday.
The oath of allegiance may be extended to cover civil servants and others working in the public sector, including council workers.
Sajid Javid, the communities and local government secretary, said that it was not possible for people to play a positive role in public life unless they accepted basic values such as democracy, equality and freedom of speech. He is expected to bring forward detailed plans for an oath early next year as part of the government’s response to a report by Dame Louise Casey, the community cohesion tsar.
In her report, Dame Louise said some Muslim communities were living in isolation and that some did not share British values such as tolerance.
Her paper warned that the country was becoming more divided as it became more diverse. It claimed that in some communities women were the subject of “abuse . . . enacted in the name of cultural or religious values”.
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Mr Javid said he was “drawn” to Dame Louise’s recommendation to bring in an oath of allegiance. “If we are going to challenge such attitudes, civic and political leaders have to lead by example,” he said in an article in The Sunday Times. “We can’t expect new arrivals to embrace British values if those of us who are already here don’t do so ourselves. Such an oath would go a long way to making that happen.”
Jon Yates, director of The Challenge, the social integration charity, said: “Sajid Javid is absolutely right — civic leaders and politicians need to lead by example and embody British values, such as listening to the views of others, a belief in equality and democracy.”