Alan Johnson, the increasingly illiberal home secretary could learn a thing or two from the patrician unionist dons who ran Queen’s University when I was there. They took seriously Rosa Luxemburg’s adage about freedom only being the freedom to dissent. As part of their commitment to celebrating the cultural and political diversity of the student body they used to have the Royal Ulster Constabulary’s band play God Save The Queen at graduation ceremonies. This allowed the unBritish, republicans, Republicans and the godless to sit down as soon as they worked out what the song was. I don’t know if they still use the musical wing of a paramilitary militia. These days it is more likely to be a kids’ cross community choir singing songs with "peace", "dream" and "new dispensation" in the lyrics.

Johnson has let it be leaked that his target is the sort of people who take part in counter demonstrations against New Labour’s homecoming parades for troops returning from a hard tour’s killing in Afghanistan.

While giving the counter demonstrators top marks for gumption you have to rate their tactical nous as pretty poor. Or you would if they were interested in building a mass anti war movement rather than propaganda sects.

Still if liberal democracy is to have any real meaning it must include the freedom of the marginal and barmy to say unpopular things. It is not too much of a stretch to insist that this freedom is extended to Muslims who are expressing legitimate anger against an imperialist war.

With this episode and the Gary McKinnon case Johnson has completed his New Labour odyssey from amiable everyman to today’s David Blunkett sending dog whistles to BNP and UKIP voters that he feels their pain.

Johnson’s attempt to define Britishness is a potentially scary creation. UnBritish can stretch from opposing wars to not cheering for the British team at a sporting event. It is proof, as if it were needed, that the Euro election results shifted British politics to the right.