What does it mean to be British in these times of the European Union, the Belfast Agreement and an undeniably multiracial and multicultural society?
Is the term "British" overloaded with racist connotations and is there a case to be put, as the Commission on the Future of Multi-Ethnic Britain argues, that the whole notion of Britishness should be reassessed?
"I am proud to be English and proud to be British. I am proud of what I believe to be the best of British values," the Home Secretary, Mr Jack Straw, made clear when he attended the publication of the Commission's two-year report on the future of race relations in Britain yesterday.
"For a small island we encompass an enormous range of races, accents and attitudes. Moulding all this into a single shared identity was always going to be a challenge. But it was made even more difficult by the way those on the left turned their back on the concept of patriotism and left the field to those on the far right."
Unfortunately for Mr Straw, his prickly rejection of the Commission's conclusion that the term Britishness has racist connotations and that race relations could be improved by rethinking it to include the experience of all Britain's ethnic groups threatens to undermine an important piece of work.
Prof Stuart Hall, one of the authors of the report, tried to explain the narrowness of "Britishness" when he said that when people talked about being British they didn't include Asians or black people in their description.
Britishness was often associated with white Englishness. "When people talk about the war and say `it was Britain's finest hour' when the English boys kept the Germans at bay they should also see the West Indians and Indian pilots who volunteered," he said.
"Unfortunately multiculturalism and racism can co-exist . . . it is about changing hearts and minds. People will belong as citizens, but they will not feel that they belong in their hearts."
The furore over the Commission's suggestion that the teaching of British history should be looked at again to consider the views of all ethnic groups was predictable.
Right-wing newspapers such as the Daily Mail vented their anger over four pages, describing the report's conclusion as "an insult to history and our intelligence" and the Daily Telegraph suggested the government, in accepting some of the Commission's recommendations, would "rewrite history".
The Home Secretary did acknowledge that Britishness was "ever changing" and he set his face against "separatists who seek to tear us apart". But in rejecting the Commission's suggestion that "Britishness is racially coded", the authors of the report argued, the Home Secretary did race relations no favours at all.
In the short term the Commission, established by the independent think tank, the Runnymede Trust, will be remembered for its stance on Britishness. In the long term, recommendations to establish a Human Rights Commission, increase the representation of blacks and Asians in the House of Lords, set up an independent commission to deal with police complaints and deaths in custody could be implemented by the government.
Including the Irish experience in the term Britishness and recognising the contribution of the Irish community to society in Britain was one of the unique aspects of the report, according to Mr Seamus Taylor, chair of the Action Group for Irish Youth. As one of the Commissioners, Mr Taylor pointed out that second and third generation Irish often described themselves as British and Irish and that they could be both.
"In some ways the Irish dimension is a unique feature of this report," Mr Taylor said, "and helps us shed fresh light on key themes - an understanding of the Irish experience in Britain illuminates Britishness in a way that the experience of black people illuminates whiteness."
Telling the story of Irishness within the concept of Britishness must mean a "fuller and more inclusive" account of the Irish experience in Britain, Mr Taylor said: "It began with Remembrance Day at Ypres when the President and the Queen attended . . . Accommodating diversity will help us all understand how we may better share our collective, multiple and different identities in a future multi-ethnic Britain."