Ben Fogle blasted woke police for anti-English sentiment: 'It's ridiculous'

The TV star visits Ullapool, Scotland, tonight in his Channel 5 series Ben Fogle: New Lives In The Wild. The 47-year-old starred on Countryfile, Cast Away 2000 and Animal Park before launching his own travel show. Fogle, who has often shone a light onto alternative lifestyles, once claimed Britons may flee the UK to live on a deserted “island” after Brexit.

He believed those who voted to leave the European Union might be more tempted because of the unique freedoms of living in an isolated spot.

Fogle listed being able to “make your own rules”, control “your own destiny” and be “your own boss” among the attractive points.

The presenter, who voted Remain in the 2016 EU Referendum, admitted he was concerned by how society had been “divided” by Brexit.

In 2019, he told The New European that Brexiteers may move to remote islands.

Fogle explained: “This idea that we can dictate and we can direct our own lives is becoming more appealing.”

Even as a Remainer, he admitted to being “tempted” by the idea of “heading off and living on an island”.

This followed Fogle’s claim that the public needed to become more patriotic after “breaking free from Europe”.

In 2017, he told The Sun: “It’s more important than ever to have a very strong identity that we should be proud of.”

JUST IN: Ben Fogle skewered for ‘English pride’ in PC rant: ‘You mean British?’

Fogle “strongly believed” that the nation could “weather the Brexit storm” because England had “always… batted way above our level”.

He urged Remainers calling for a second EU referendum to “stop whining” and let the Government “get on with it”. 

Fogle also penned English: A Story of Marmite, Queuing and Weather – a book he is said to have come under fire for from those who thought “English” was not a positive word. 

He claimed the woke police had shut him down on social media and in-person over it.

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Fogle said: “Whenever I… mentioned to people I was writing a book on Englishness, I was always corrected.

“They would say, ‘You mean Britishness?’”

When he stated that he was a “proud Englishman” online he felt it was “the most un-PC (politically correct)” he could have “ever been”.

Fogle continued: “It’s ridiculous because all it is, is writing a very simple book about Englishness.”

He found it weird to be “slightly nervous” about attracting “criticism” for his patriotism and blamed that “squeamishness” on other UK nations.

Fogle called out the hypocrisy over “Scottish and Irish” people thinking it was inappropriate to celebrate Englishness.

He said: “It’s fascinating, especially… as they are so big on celebrating their own identity.”

Fogle felt it was “sad” that English people “were not allowed to celebrate” their “Englishness”.

The star believed it was because the “St George’s Cross” and other English “words” had been “hijacked” by political campaigns.

Fogle added: “It’s something many of us feel squeamish about because… [they] have been hijacked by the BNP and other far-right parties.”

He noted that English pride was “often mistaken and muddled with xenophobia, anti-immigration and racism”.

The star believed the EU referendum results were partly because people were “fed up of being so PC for fear of their attitudes being misconstrued”.

Around 52 percent of the UK voted for Brexit, of which 53.4 percent of that vote came from England.  

Fogle claimed “unions” – in reference to the EU – were not necessarily a good thing because they had the ability to “strip away some of your own identity”.

With Britain’s departure from the bloc imminent at the time of his remarks, he thought it was “more important than ever” to be “proud” of England.

Fogle called for “a proper celebration for St George’s Day” – which is on April 23 – to reinforce national pride.

He fumed about English people only being “allowed… one moment” to be patriotic and that was during football.

Fogle continued: “England becomes a united nation where we will happily fly the St George’s Cross.

“I would love to change the undertone of what it means – reclaiming the St George’s Cross would be my dream.”

Ben Fogle: New Lives In The Wild airs at 9pm tonight on Channel 5.