COUNCIL WARNS STAFF ABOUT USING OFFENSIVE TERM 'BRITISH'

Falklands hero Denzil Connick, 51, who lives within the council’s jurisdiction, blasted the ban as “utter nonsense”.

Lance Corporal Connick, who lost a leg in the conflict, said: “I always refer to myself as Welsh-British. I have my Welsh heritage but I am proud to be British.

“It is utter nonsense to ban staff from using the word British.”

Philip Davies, Tory MP for Shipley in West Yorkshire, said he could not understand what was to be gained from such an initiative.

He added: “The term British is a unifying term not a divisive one and we ought to be promoting the idea of everybody feeling British rather than looking for reasons to drive us apart.”

Mr Davies said he thought that the council’s “priority ought to be improving services and keeping council tax bills down”.

The guide was compiled by the independent Valleys Race Equality Council directed by shamed former Caerphilly MP Ron Davies.

The book said that “many Scots, Welsh and Irish resist being called British”. It added that people from ethnic minorities should be called “British Asians” or “Chinese British”.

Mr Davies, who resigned from his post as Secretary of State for Wales in 1998 after being mugged at a notorious gay cruising spot on Clapham Common, south London, defended the leaflet.

“It’s just for information, there’s no advice or instruction,” said Mr Davies, who is an Independent cabinet member on the council.

“Of this council’s employees, 3,900 describe themselves as white British, whereas 5,400 describe themselves as white Welsh. So this information is very much in accordance with the way that people in Caerphilly identify themselves.”

A council spokesman said: “We are committed to equality and we always try to ensure that everyone is treated equally, regardless of sex, race or religion.” He added that the information in the guidebook was “not a direct instruction to staff about what phrases they can and cannot use in the workplace”.