DAVID Starkey, a historian, made a statement that alarmed the country, saying PM Rishi Sunak “is not fully grounded in our culture” and Sunak’s religion may have influenced to the government’s alleged lack of interest in the coronation ceremony.
Starkey was discussing a perceived lack of interest in King Charles’s coronation from the government when speaking to GB News on Thursday.
His latest remarks on the PM and the government have been construed as racist by politicians and other prominent figures in the UK.
Senior Conservative MPs accused the 78-year-old historian of making disparaging remarks against the Prime Minister’s Hindu faith and British Indian ancestry.
Starkey made this statement after he was informed by the host, journalist, and commentator Andrew Pierce, that the prime minister was “detached, or at least semi-detached, from this coronation.”
Starkey replied: “Invisible. I think one of the reasons that I think a lot has gone wrong, for example, why parliament has not been properly represented at the coronation of a parliamentary monarchy, is because the government isn’t interested in the constitution.
“The prime minister, the man of immense talent, of extraordinary skill, but really, not fully grounded in our culture,” he continued.
“I know that’s a difficult and controversial thing to say, but I think it’s true. And, again, this coronation is going to highlight far too much our differences rather than what unites us.”
He also stated that this was a reference to religion as Sunak follows Hinduism and Charles, as the monarch, is the head of the Church of England, which usually plays a major role in the coronation. During the coronation, the prime minister will read a chapter from the Bible.
Both the historian David Olusoga and the former chancellor Sajid Javid referred to these remarks as “truly disgusting” and “a reminder of the appalling views that still exist” in Britain.
Nadhim Zahawi, the former chancellor, and Conservative Party chairman said: “That is an ill-informed opinion. A racist opinion.
“He only needs to spend a few hours with Rishi or with me in Stratford-on-Avon or Yorkshire to realise how our culture is strong and has been rooted in diversity, pride, and love. He could do with reading Shakespeare.”
The director of the think tank British Future, Sunder Katwala, welcomed the fact that no one had previously questioned whether Sunak’s religion or race rendered him less qualified to serve as a national leader.
“It’s unfortunate that David Starkey has sought to bring this clumsy, prejudiced and divisive perspective to a national occasion which aspires to bring people together,” said Katwala.
Major publisher HarperCollins UK said that it will not be publishing any more books by Starkey.
When asked about the harm his “deplorably inflammatory” statements had caused, Starkey reportedly apologised “unreservedly” and said he had spoken “with awful clumsiness.”
Fitzwilliam alumni Starkey was removed from a fundraising effort for the institution in 2015 following claims that he was “aggressively racist” by staff and students.
Subscribe for our weekly news letter here!
You can unsubscribe us at any time
