And now for something completely different...
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Quote:Monty Python star John Cleese sparks outrage by saying London is 'not really an English city any more'
'John Cleese has sparked an online row by suggesting that London is 'not really an English city'.
The star of Fawlty Towers and Monty Python - who revealed last year he was moving to Nevis in the Caribbean
-wrote to his 5.6 million Twitter followers that 'London was not really an English city anymore.'
His comments echo those he made in 2011, when the veteran actor told Australian television that London 'doesn't
feel English.'
Cleese - who is no stranger to controversy on social media - has caused a heated debate online with this latest
comment, with some people mocking the 79-year-old, while others supported his views.
His tweet said: 'Some years ago I opined that London was not really an English city any more.
'Since then, virtually all my friends from abroad have confirmed my observation. 'So there must be some truth in it...
'I note also that London was the UK city that voted most strongly to remain in the EU.'
Sherlock star Amanda Abbington tweeted: 'What's happened to John Cleese...?'
TV presenter Rick Edwards wrote: 'Just when you think you can't love John Cleese any more!! It turns out you can't.
But not everyone disagreed with the veteran entertainer.
The official Leave.EU account praised Cleese, writing: 'Bravo to British comedy legend and Brexiteer @JohnCleese
for speaking up about the state of London The liberal luvvies on Twitter are in meltdown over his refusal to apologise
for telling the truth!'.
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has responded to John Cleese after the actor made comments about London
In a statement Mr Khan referred to Cleese's comedy series Fawlty Towers, saying: 'These comments make John Cleese
sound like he's in character as Basil Fawlty.
'Londoners know that our diversity is our greatest strength. We are proudly the English capital, a European city and a global hub.'
Since the tweet Mr Cleese has responded to critics online who have questioned his claims about London.
He posted in response to one user on Twitter: 'I suspect I should apologise for my affection for the Englishness of my upbringing,
but in some ways I found it calmer, more polite, more humorous, less tabloid, and less money-oriented than the one that is
replacing it.'
According to the 2011 Census, 44.9 per cent of London is White British, the lowest figure for a single region in the country.
North East England has the highest percentage of White British people in England, with 93.6 per cent.
The highest percentage in the UK is Northern Ireland, which has 96 per cent.
Non-white groups made up 40 per cent of London’s population, while it varies from 4.5 per cent to 17 per cent in other English
regions.
It is not the first time Mr Cleese has courted controversy online.
In November 2018, the British actor took to Twitter to share a joke he'd heard while dining out at a restaurant in Sacremento,
California. He wrote: 'Invited tonight to a Sacramento restaurant called Lucca, by the owner Erin.
'She said that last night several people came in to eat who were from Paradise, the place that just burned to the ground.
'She told me that they wanted everything they ordered flambeed. Magnificent...'
At the time he posted the joke California was besieged by wild fires, with the death toll currently at 50, with hundreds of animals
also thought to have perished and thousands left homeless.
In another remark on Twitter made by the actor in June 2018, he listed the best audiences then followed it up by saying:
'Worst: Lazy, fat, beer-sodden, pseudo-French Belgian b******s in Hasselt.
'Like reading Moby Dick to nomads.'
But after an online backlash he added: 'An apology to the citizens of Hasselt. It was quite wrong of me to describe them
as pseudo-French. They are, of course, pseudo-Dutch.'
His latest comments echo his comments made on Australian television on 2011 that London 'is not longer an English city.'
He said at the time: 'I'm not sure what's going on in Britain. Let me say this, I don't know what's going on in London because
London is no longer an English city and that's how they got the Olympics.
'They said 'we're the most cosmopolitan city on Earth' but it doesn't feel English.
'I had a Californian friend come over two months ago, walk down the King's Road and say to me 'well, where are all the
English people?'. 'I love having different cultures around but when the parent culture kind of dissipates you're left thinking
'well, what's going on?''
A representative for Cleese has been contacted for comment...'
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Quote:Latest official statistics reveal the make-up of London’s populationMail Online:
London has the highest percentage of non-UK born residents in the country.
It is also made up of the highest proportion of non-white groups in the country.
In 2018, 36 percent of people in London were non-UK born residents, while non-British residents were at 22 per cent.
In the local authority of Brent, 52 percent of people were born outside of the UK, while both Kensington and Chelsea,
and Westminster, have 49 percent of their population born elsewhere.
The 2011 census recorded that 2,998,264 people are foreign-born, including 24.5 percent born in a non-European
country, making London the city with the second largest immigrant population, behind New York City, in terms of
absolute numbers
According to the Census, 44.9 percent of Londoners are White British, the lowest proportion in the country.
In comparison, the North East of England is 93.6 percent White British.
Other White people make up 14.9 percent of London's population.
7.1 percent of Londoners are African, while 6.6 percent are Indian.
5 percent are of Mixed race and 4.2 percent are Caribbean.
A further 2.7 percent are Pakistani, 2.7 percent are Bangladeshi and 1.5 percent are Chinese.
4.9 percent are Other Asian, 2.1 percent are Other Black and 3.4 percent are from a different Ethnic Group.
When it comes to language, 77.9 percent of Londoners speak English as their main language, while 0.6 percent
cannot speak it at all. 48.2 percent of Londoners are Christian, according to the 2011 Census.
Edith Head Gives Good Wardrobe.