Censored by The Daily Telegraph

Telegraph bans Jon Danzig's comment that the British were the most prolific illegal immigrants

The British have invaded almost every country, reported The Telegraph on Sunday.

Indeed, nearly 90% of the planet’s nations have at various times in history been attacked by the British, according to a new list of British conquests compiled by historian and author Stuart Laycock for his latest book:

“All the Countries We've Ever invaded: And the Few We Never Got Round To.”

Only 22 of the globe’s countries remain untouched by a British intrusion involving “..force, the threat of force, negotiation or payment”, noted The Telegraph.  Included in the “amazing and humbling” list of British invasions were those undertaken by “pirates, privateers or armed explorers”, so long as they were, “operating with the approval” of the British government.

The Telegraph described these incursions into other peoples’ lands as, “...the remarkable global reach achieved by this country.”

Expressing pride in uncovering so many British invasions, author Laycock said, “I don't think anyone could match this, although the Americans had a later start and have been working hard on it in the twentieth century."  He added that his compilation of British conquests could be greater – and called upon the public to tell him of other Anglo attacks that he might have missed.

Mr Laycock called his tally of British assaults as “a light-hearted bit of fun” but added it was also “intended to prompt debate”.

I was the first to contribute to the comments section of The Telegraph article, and received almost 100 “recommendations” by Telegraph readers for my observation:

"It appears that the British have been the most prolific illegal immigrants in the history of the world."

After 15 hours of pondering my comment, The Telegraph moderators decided to remove it – whilst allowing about 600 comments by other readers to remain.  When I asked why, “The Moderators” replied that I might not be aware that my comment had contravened The Telegraph's Terms and Conditions.

• Jon Danzig's comment achieved 15 hours of fame  -  but was it too anti-British Empire for The Telegraph newspaper?

• Jon Danzig's comment was removed by The Telegraph Moderators after 15 hours, despite being approved by almost 100 Telegraph readers.

© Copyright Jon Danzig 2012