LORD CAREY of Clifton, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, yesterday backed the call by the new Archbishop of York for the English to celebrate St George’s Day in style.

Lord Carey said that the English ought to make more of St George’s Day. He told a seminar in London that it was “extraordinary” that it had taken a Ugandan-born Archbishop such as Dr John Sentamu to remind the English that they needed to take more pride in their Englishness.

Dr Sentamu will be installed at York Minster tomorrow in a lively service featuring African drums. Food for the entire congregation will be served in the nave afterwards, donated by Marks & Spencer.

Lord Carey said that Dr Sentamu’s words represented “Britishness at its best”. It was, he said, an example of how Britain can “welcome the stranger” to the point where he had become so much “one of us” that he was able to criticise his adopted country for failing to celebrate its national identity.

Lord Carey was speaking at a meeting at St James’s Palace between faith leaders and diplomats from various countries, held by the Three Faiths Forum. Referring to the controversial Religious Hatred Bill, the former Archbishop said: “We should be vigilant in our participation in the current debate about protection for religious communities and society’s demand for freedom of belief, expression and criticism. Faith communities that wish to be part of British society and life must be willing to accept our hard-earned rights and should not be aggrieved when their faith is put under the glare of scrutiny and criticism.”

Earlier yesterday a Norfolk pub landlord, Tony Bennett, failed to get St George’s Day recognised by the courts as a “special occasion”. Mr Bennett, licensee of The Otter at Thorpe Marriott, was seeking a judicial review of a decision by magistrates not to grant him a late licence for April 23 this year. After the High Court hearing, his solicitor, Robin Tilbrook, said: “It is a black day in the courts when they refuse to make a declaration that St George’s Day is a special occasion.”

Under the licensing laws that came into force last week Mr Bennett has won his application to the local authority for an extension of hours on next year’s St George’s Day.

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