A SRI LANKAN businessman who came to Europe as a refugee has started an “anti-political correctness party” to fight for the right to discuss race and immigration without fear of persecution.

Johannes Shanmugam believes that political correctness has gone too far in Britain. He is particularly incensed at what he claims is the ingratitude of those who have been given refuge in Britain yet complain endlessly about their new home.

He announced the formation of his Political Correctness Corrective Party, which has so far just one member, himself, in his local newspaper and is now waiting to gauge the response.

Mr Shanmugam, who owns a sandwich shop in Cheltenham, believes that people are afraid to speak up in case they say the “wrong thing”.

He is outraged at the way an Oxfordshire nursery school changed the words of Baa-Baa Black Sheep to “Baa-Baa Rainbow Sheep” for fear of causing offence.

He said: “We’re so scared of offending minority people in this country that we’ve come full circle and got into an absurd situation. Is it all right for me to serve black pudding? Should Blackpool be renamed? Where’s it going to end?”

Mr Shanmugam, who fled Sri Lanka for Sweden in 1990 and moved to Britain eight years ago, says that people who are genuinely fleeing persecution and are given refuge appreciate the freedoms that Britain offers. If they don’t like it here, they can go elsewhere, he said.

“I do think we should have controls on immigration. I can say these things because I am dark-skinned but, if a white person says them, they are accused of being racist. We need to have a civilised political debate. You can’t go around waving placards and threatening to behead someone just because you disagree with them.”