Celebrate new national holiday with 'typically British' pursuit of drinking, says minister

Gordon Brown's planned new Britain Day should be celebrated 'through drinking', a minister said today.

A day down the pub is effectively one of 27 ideas on a list of ways to mark the proposed national holiday championed by the Prime Minister.

Other controversial suggestions include involving 'celebrities with the right values', with the model Kate Moss given as an example - despite the publication of images of her apparently snorting cocaine.

Morris dancing, street parties and 'appreciating the weather' are also put forward as typically British pursuits in a pamphlet published by Home Office minister Liam Byrne on how to proclaim national identity.

But the inclusion of drinking is a tacit admission that consuming vast quantities of booze is now a core element of our culture.

Labour has already faced fierce criticism for introducing all day opening which has led to a rise in violence outside pubs and nightclubs and in hospital admissions as a result of alcohol abuse.

However, when asked whether his inclusion of 'drinking' as a way to mark Britain Day might be interpreted as celebrating binge boozing, Mr Byrne was unrepentant.

He told the Sunday Times: 'Well, as the bloke said to me, "It's my day, it's my right to do whatever I like!" Best of British, I thought.'

Tory MP Philip Davies said: 'Binge drinking is one of the least pleasant aspects of British culture. It is not something to celebrate and moreover certainly not something the Government should be encouraging.'

Andrew Marr, the television presenter and author of A History of Modern Britain, claimed drinking was the only 'suitable' idea. 'It is our national sport and we're very good at it,' he said. 'Drinking to excess, that is.'

Mr Brown has been determined to bang the drum of Britishness since he took over as Labour leader and PM last year.

He has called for the Union Flag to be flown in every garden in the country and is writing a book on the subject of being British.

Typically British: Drinking, Morris dancing and appreciating the weather have all been listed as quintessentially British pursuits

The pamphlet - A More United Kingdom - published by the think tank Demos, is the result of Mr Byrne's year-long consultation about holding such an event and how it could be marked.

In it, the minister writes: 'I was impressed at the strength of support I heard.

'Around the country, people echoed this sense that the UK has always been a pretty diverse place and because of this there has evolved an extra need to raise awareness about our shared history and values of tolerance.

'There was a strong sense the day was so important that it should be a public holiday.'

But he warns against the occasion becoming too 'jingoistic'.

'Many people are opposed to the "trappings of nationalism" such as "saluting flags"', he claims.

Britain Day has yet to find its way on to the calendar but Mr Byrne proposes the second May bank holiday, already a day off in all parts of the UK.

Other suggestions are for it to be held on the Queen's birthday, May Day, St George's Day, a day of historical significance, such as Trafalgar Day - or even 'pancake day'.

Historian David Starkey said: 'All this idea for a British Day is simply the sign of a nation and a Government in trouble.

'There is an air of absurdity about this idea when key people like Brown are dictating what they think is Britishness from a Scottish standpoint.'

Lord Tebbit, the Conservative former cabinet minister, said: 'Britishness is something which should be there. We don't need to celebrate it as such. Millions of people clearly want to come here or have come here to be British. That's enough.'