But the creed of multiculturalism is so powerful that almost any form of repression and thought-control is justified in the name of 'rooting out prejudice'. What I find nauseating are the double standards at work. Brutish conduct in private by a few officers is hailed by the media and the government as chillingly representative of the entire police force -- hence the need for a wholesale change in attitudes. At the same time, we are constantly warned against applying any generalisations to the Islamic or black communities. We must not think that Muslim clerics, pouring out their murderous hatred of the West and Judaism, have anything to do with the overwhelming majority of moderate Muslims. Similarly, we must not be trapped into the dangerous fallacy that gun violence, drug-dealing and serial fatherhood are somehow prevalent among young African-Caribbean men.

Yet this terror of stereotyping of anyone -- except white police officers -- ignores the reality of modern British society. Islamic fundamentalism and black criminality are not figments of a twisted imagination. They are an integral part of the cultural diversity we are all meant to celebrate.