Every public office-holder may have to swear an oath of allegiance to British values, Communities Secretary Sajid Javid has indicated.

The pledge would be expected to cover elected officials, civil servants and council workers.

The proposal from Mr Javid is in response to a report on social cohesion by Dame Louise Casey, which warned some sections of society did not accept British values such as tolerance.

He said he was "drawn" to Dame Louise's recommendation to bring in an oath of allegiance because it was impossible for people to play a "positive role" in public life unless they accepted basic values like democracy and equality.

Image: Mr Javid said his aim was not to create a 'one size fits all identity'

Writing in The Sunday Times, Mr Javid said: "If we are going to challenge such attitudes, civic and political leaders have to lead by example.


"We can't expect new arrivals to embrace British values if those of us who are already here don't do so ourselves, and such an oath would go a long way to making that happen."

Mr Javid said his aim was not to create a "Government-approved one size fits all identity" where everybody listens to the Last Night of the Proms, but "without common building blocks of our society, you'll struggle to play a positive role in British life".

Is Britain less integrated than ever before?

The pledge could include phrases such as "tolerating the views of others even if you disagree with them", as well as "believing in freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom from abuse ... a belief in equality, democracy, and the democratic process" and "respect for the law, even if you think the law is an ass".

Mr Javid also wants all migrants to swear an oath of allegiance, not just those who want UK citizenship, The Sunday Times reported.

Shadow home secretary Diane Abbott said she did not oppose the idea of an oath of allegiance to British values, but added "it will not make a difference to the problems of integration and radicalisation".

Growing 'ethnic segregation' in Britain

Dame Louise's report warned Britain was becoming more divided as it became more diverse, and highlighted that in some communities women were the subject of "abuse and unequal treatment" which was "enacted in the name of cultural or religious values".

She acknowledged elements of the report would be "hard to read", particularly for Muslim communities which already felt under pressure, but she said the country had to face up to "uncomfortable" problems.

The review said schoolchildren should be taught "British values" of tolerance, democracy and respect to help keep communities together amid growing "ethnic segregation".

'US does patriotism better than we do'

It was commissioned by former prime minister David Cameron in 2015 as part of a wider strategy to fight the "poison" of Islamic extremism.

Former politician David Mellor told Sky News' Murnaghan programme "the US does patriotism better than we do".

"There is no reason why people should have to be breast-beatingly patriotic," he said.

"But I do think we have made a mistake in allowing people to come into our country and become British citizens who make no real concessions to being British at all."