"of [insert ancestory here] decent...."

I have no problem with the two 16-year olds (one of them, left) being put on trial in Ghana of charges of possesion and cocaine trafficking. At worst they were knowing smugglers hoping to make a quick buck; at best they were just stupid. Nevertheless, they need to see some serious time inside as a deterrant to others.

No. My problem is that the BBC, like many media outlets since 7/7 made the casual observation that:

"Yasemin is the daughter of immigrants from Cyprus, while Yatunde is of Nigerian descent. Both are UK citizens."

So... in other words, they're like me. Born here. Parents not born here. Therefore....what? not quite totally British? What are they saying?

Oh...they're not white.

What is the relevance of that sentence in that article. I'll tell you what it is...it's a punctuation; a clear marker that is designed to separate those girls, me and approximately 29% of the London populace, 8.67% from the rest of the 'host' UK population.

It the same as when at the end of a news report of a murder ends with "Operation Trident are investigating". That's non-subtle code for black-on-black murder. Therefore no need to worry Daily mail readership, as it's just 'those lot' killing one another.

I'm not one to play the race card; too many in my community often do this to their own detriment. However, this is one area that continues to irk me.

I have to ask the question: at which point will I ever be recognised as truly British, or will that pigeon-hole forever be there?