The South Wales Caerphilly Council (Labour 32 seats, Plaid Cymru 32 seats) has adopted the Valleys Race Equality Council suggestion that the word ?British’ is as offensive as the word ?negro’ and should not be used.

The word ?British’ can be as offensive as ?negro’ and ?half-caste’, according to a race relations body.

The publicly-funded race Gestapo ?Valleys Race Equality Council’ (Valrec) is run by former Labour minister Ron Davies who lost his Cabinet job in 1998 after he was robbed by a black Rastafarian after cruising on Clapham Common, a well-known homosexual meeting place.

Valrec is funded by councils and the Commission for Racial Equality and it pays Mr Davies £27,000 a year.

Now, Valrec’s recommendation has been adopted by Caerphilly council in a leaflet advising staff on how to deal with the public.

In a section on what words or phrases not to use to avoid causing offence, the leaflet says: “The idea of ?British’ implies a false sense of unity — many Scots, Welsh and Irish resist being called British and the land denoted by the term contains a wide variety of cultures, languages and religions.”

The suggestion the word ?British’ should be avoided appears alongside similar sections which warn that ?half-caste’ implies “a person is not whole and so should be avoided” and that ?negro’ has “racist overtones and is linked with the slave trade.”