Trevor Phillips argues that Britain, in its desperation to eliminate inequality, risks destroying the very principles that have drawn people here for generations.

He points to its eccentricity, its easy going tolerance and its spirit of non-conformity, but he believes 'zealots' are slowly demanding a new sort of 'group-think' that has all the features of a repressive sect.

'I, for one, hope that the rough spirit of British eccentricity, the awkward squad, of putting two fingers up to the establishment, endures.'

Producer: Adele Armstrong
Sound: Peter Bosher
Production coordinator: Helena Warwick-Cross
Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith