Should Rule Britannia be sung at the Proms?

THE BBC is shooting itself in the foot over the row about Land Of Hope And Glory and Rule Britannia as part of the Last Night of the Proms. Why bow to pressure from minority groups? And why has the Finnish conductor Dalia Stasevska been invited to conduct when she obviously has no idea of what it is really about? It’s a patriotic celebration of all things British and in no way does it support slavery.

MIKE QUInn, nuneaton, Warks.

WHY stop there? Ban the singing of Jerusalem and the National Anthem. Better still, ban the Last Night of the Proms so no one is offended. How much more of our tradition and history must be sacrificed on the Black Lives Matter altar?

John BURTon, Worksop, notts.

IT’S not the words ‘Britons never will be slaves’ that I object to, but all of Rule Britannia. The lyrics are imperial jingoism inappropriate for the world we live in. Keep the tune, if we must, but not the words. The sooner we put imperial fantasies behind us the better.

G. GRooMBRIDGE, southampton.

FIVE years ago, I attended the Last Night of the Proms. When Land Of Hope And Glory was performed, it was awe-inspiring. The Portuguese man who shared my box said: ‘Magnificent!’ An American who sat near me added: ‘Enjoy it while you can because sooner or later some son of a b***h will try to ban it.’

MIChAEL CohEn, London nW6.

THE BBC has been trying to get rid of these songs for years from the Last Night of the Proms. They haven’t wanted them because of

Brexit and the fears they would upset Remainers. Will the BBC soon find the word British, which is part of its name, to be offensive?

MARY WIEDMAn, Piccotts End, herts.

IF the clowns who run the BBC had run it during the Second World War, they would have invited Lord HawHaw over for a cup of tea and a chat in the name of ‘diversity and inclusion’. They do not represent the British people, just the agendadriven, Left-wing hand-wringers.

GoRDon MACCALMAn, Motherwell, Lanarkshire.

The BBC wants to drop our best anthems? It’s time to drop the BBC. If it won’t support our traditional music, then why should the public support it through a licence fee?

RoBERT D Knox, Bishopbriggs, Dunbartonshire.