9th September 2012: Last week Andrew Brons responded to a report in the Sunday Telegraph concerning the plight of Professor John Tulloch.

He wrote the following letter to the editor of that newspaper.

Dear Sir

The tragic case of Professor John Tulloch has arisen because British law confuses two related but distinct concepts: citizenship and nationality. He has been denied citizenship because he and his immediate forebears were born in India, serving the Crown, despite being entirely of British descent. However, he is self-evidently of British nationality because he is of British descent.

Any Eastern European, even during the Soviet era, would have explained that nationality is a natural status, acquired by descent from one’s forebears, whilst citizenship is a legal status, acquired by place of birth or by legal procedure.

Professor Tulloch’s forebears have been, it appears, from the indigenous inhabitants of this country as far back as records exist. If he lacks British citizenship, there is something wrong with our citizenship law.

Millions of people can flaunt their British citizenship, despite not having a single indigenous British ancestor. It is outrageous that an indigenous Briton is denied that right.

Yours faithfully

Andrew Brons
British National Party MEP
Yorkshire and the Humber