London teacher Sam Peterson is disgusted with the actions of the Luton anti-war protesters on Tuesday and feels ashamed to be British

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IT’S NOT often I’m ashamed of being British, but I am today.

And, no, it’s got nothing to do with the fact the entire country seems to be glued to their TV sets as they wait for the famously talentless Jade Goody to ­depart this mortal coil. And, no, it’s got nothing to do with The X Factor, Dancing on Ice or the Labour Party.

I’m ashamed because I’ve just watched a battalion of brave servicemen and women walk through a British town after putting their lives on the line in a distant country.

These soldiers– simply obeying the orders of fat politicians who have never experienced the fear of anything stronger than losing their fat salary – were attacked by a group of people as cowardly as the suicide bombers who targeted them in Iraq and Afghanistan.

These hardy souls printed out a few placards, ­borrowed some slogans from the Vietnam war protests and tried to interrupt the ­soldiers’ parade. With ­limited effect, obviously, because if push came to shove, none of these protesters would stand up to a trained soldier in a one-on-one tussle. They all looked too short and fat, for a start.

They would run away – that’s the sort of people they are. Unless they were true fanatics – then they would find a crowded Tube carriage and blow themselves up, aiming their backpack at a baby in a pram. And they yell “baby ­murderers” at the soldiers? Oh, the irony.

What I don’t understand is that if these protesters hate this country so much, why do they live here? Why not go and live in Iraq or Pakistan or Afghanistan? Then they could protest on the front-line, alongside like-minded people – that would get their point across much more effectively than annoying the residents of Luton.

Or are they simply happy to be living in the UK while embarrassing “their” country by making idiots of themselves on national television? If they moved to the likes of Baghdad, they would be too busy living and working to spend their lunchbreaks holding protests and inciting outrage up and down the country.

Do they really think they’re helping race relations in this country? Calling our soldiers – many of whom have lost limbs and close friends, if not their lives – “baby murderers”? It makes me sick.

Sam Peterson, 34, is a London teacher

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