I just saw the first episode of After Rome: Holy War and Conquest, a bbc programme on the history of Islam and it’s interactions with Europe. It’s what I’d describe as ‘liberal’, – fair, balanced and open minded; it wasn’t afraid to show us Christians/western Europeans in a bad light, or to criticise the Muslims when appropriate. What I find amazing, and what has stopped me in my tracks, is that this ‘liberal’ programme was eloquently presented by a leading Tory MP, Boris Johnson.

The choice of presenter does two things: personally, if forces me to re-think my attitude towards the Tories: they obviously weren’t as narrow-minded and ignorant of history as I thought. Secondly, and more importantly, it sends a message to the right, saying there is no room for ethnic or religious intolerance in modern politics. Hats off to both Mr Johnson and the BBC.