Immigrants to Britain should be required to learn the English language, Chancellor Gordon Brown said today.
Mr Brown said he wanted people who had settled in the country and who had so far resisted learning English to be required to do so.
British Chancellor Gordon Brown
And he said immigrants should be given an understanding of British history so that they could learn values of freedom, liberty and tolerance.
"I think people who come into this country, who are part of our community, should play by the rules," he told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme.
"I think learning English is part of that. I think that understanding British history is part of that. That's why I want to see changes in the curriculum.
"I would insist on large numbers of people who have refused to learn our language that they must do so.
"If someone is unemployed who doesn't speak English, they should have to learn English to make themselves employable. If you take preachers coming into this country, they should be speaking the English language and not refusing to speak the English language."
Mr Brown's comments came as he was preparing to deliver a speech later today warning of the dangers of economic protectionism, but he denied there was any contradiction in his message.
"I think that being more explicit about what we value about being British is a very essential element of how we are part of the modern world," he said.
"You can be part of the global economy and benefit from it but have a huge pride and patriotism that you feel about your own country."
PA