Audio: ‘I’m called Sajid, I’m fiercely patriotic about our country’

Sajid Javid was on Question Time yesterday and gave easily one of the most confident and assured defences of the government’s immigration policy to date. In response to a question about British identity and the increasing popularity of the name ‘Mohammad’, Javid rebutted the notion that a name has anything to do with patriotism:

‘I think it’s pretty silly to suggest that someone’s name has some kind of bearing on their love for our country. I’m called Sajid. I’m fiercely patriotic about our country, I think it’s the greatest country on earth. And so name has nothing to do it.’

As the Conservatives’ first (and only) male cabinet minister from a Muslim background, his remarks carry more weight than some of his other colleagues trying to extoll the benefits of immigration while explaining the need for reform:

‘Immigration does have an impact on our country.