Former Loose Women presenter Saira Khan has ignited a fierce backlash after branding people who raise the English flag “a bunch of saddos who drink a lot” during a heated television debate about national identity and patriotism.
The 55-year-old television personality appeared on Jeremy Vine’s Channel 5 chat show this morning alongside journalist James Max, where the panel discussed controversial comments made by former Manchester United footballer Gary Neville about division in Britain.
Neville, 50, posted a video on LinkedIn on Friday in which he claimed that division in the country is “mainly created by angry, middle-aged white men, who know exactly what they’re doing”. The former England defender’s remarks came approximately 24 hours after Syrian-born terrorist Jihad Al-Shamie carried out an attack on Jewish worshippers at a synagogue in Manchester.
When host Jeremy Vine, 60, asked his panellists for their thoughts on Neville’s comments, Khan immediately voiced her support for the footballer’s controversial stance.
“Well, I agree with him. I really applaud Gary Neville talking about topics that other people just shy away from,” Khan said. “I’m British-born, born in the 70s and look, flying the flag a lot of people do not have a problem with it and in this country historically we fly flags when it’s a national sporting event, jubilees, etc. Nobody has a problem with it, but this just feels, at this time, led by certain groups of people to be divisive and I completely agree with him.”
The former reality television star then recounted witnessing four men at a roundabout recently “climbing up a ladder, creating nuisance putting up flags”. Her description of the incident quickly escalated into a personal attack on those involved.
“And do you know what I thought?” she continued. “I thought, it is 2.30 in the afternoon, why are you not in a job? Or why are you not volunteering somewhere? Why are you doing this? Causing a public nuisance and also causing a health hazard.
Khan added that her own street doesn’t display any flags, insisting this doesn’t make residents any less patriotic. “I’m sorry but down my street where I live there isn’t a single flag and you cannot say to me that because we are not flying the flag, we are not patriotic,” she said.
Journalist James Max offered a more measured response, acknowledging that Neville “makes a point that the flag is being used in a divisive way” and that the State has been “negligent with how it’s managed our flags”. However, he criticised Neville for singling out one demographic group.
“That being said, when you start saying this is just angry, middle-aged white men then I think that’s problematic in itself,” Max argued. And I think the second point is that he then goes on to blame Brexit and as soon as you do that you are basically taking away from the power of your argument because you’re basically putting your flag up to say well this is what I believe and then you’re dividing.
Max concluded that Neville himself was being divisive through his choice of words and framing of the argument.
When Vine questioned whether the description of “angry middle-aged white men” suggested people who weren’t in control of themselves, Khan interrupted with an even more contentious claim.
“They’re not. If you see a lot of men on marches that want these flags up they are white, angry men who are dissatisfied with their own lives so the only way they can do it is by going out and being like that. That’s what I see on a lot of these protests,” she said.
The conversation then took a particularly controversial turn when Vine asked whether Khan thought the men she’d seen were “largered up”. Her response sparked immediate criticism.
“Well, I was in a car and I saw them and there was evidence that these men probably drink a lot,” Khan claimed. “I’m sorry but just by the shape of their bodies, and I don’t care if that sounds controversial, I’m making a judgement on their appearance.”
She continued her description, stating the men were “wearing capes” with flag scarves wrapped around them. “They were giving me gestures and I just thought you’re saddos, you’re absolute saddos,” Khan said.
In an apparent attempt to soften her stance, Khan insisted she had no issue with flag-waving in general, describing herself as “a massive England fan” whose husband and children would be attending England matches with flags next year.
“We love the flag, I hold the flag, I’m a massive England fan. My husbands and kid are going to watch England play next year, we’re gonna be flagged up, but do we need it every single day? We’ve never had it, so why now?” she questioned.
Max concluded the debate by suggesting the issue stemmed from the State’s failure to appropriately claim and display the flag, noting that nobody complains when flags fly on Regent Street or Oxford Street. “It’s about claiming the flag and it being used appropriately by the State because if it was then we wouldn’t have this issue where people feel that they have to fly it because they’re trying to make a point,” he said.
The debate comes amid heightened tensions over national identity and patriotism in Britain, with discussions about flag-flying becoming increasingly polarised in recent years. Khan’s comments about making judgements based on physical appearance and suggesting unemployment amongst flag-raisers are likely to fuel further controversy in an already heated national conversation.
Khan, who appeared on Loose Women from 2015 to 2020, has previously courted controversy with outspoken views on various social and political issues. She left the ITV daytime show to focus on other projects and has since made regular appearances on debate programmes.
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