Prime Minister Boris Johnson called for an end to “cringing embarrassmentabout our history” after the BBC decided to strip lyrics from traditional LastNight Of The Proms favourites such as Land Of Hope And Glory.
The broadcasterrevealed details of its schedule for the Last Night event after reports thatanthems Rule Britannia!
And Land Of Hope And Glory could face the axe overtheir perceived association with colonialism and slavery.
On Monday night, theBBC issued a statement saying the two songs would be performed by theorchestra, but without singing during the September 12 concert.
Mr Johnsonshared his reaction during a visit to Devon on Tuesday, telling reporters: “Iwas gonna tweet about this, but I just want to say… if it is correct, which Icannot believe that it really is, but if it is correct, that the BBC is sayingthat they will not sing the words of Land Of Hope And Glory or Rule Britannia!as they traditionally do at the end of The Last Night of The Proms. “I thinkit’s time we stopped our cringing embarrassment about our history, about ourtraditions, and about our culture, and we stopped this general fight of self-recrimination and wetness.
“I wanted to get that off my chest.”
