THE founder of Bradford-based campaign One Britain One Nation has defended his campaign after it came in for criticism online yesterday.

After the Department for Education tweeted encouraging schools across the UK to take part in the event on Friday, June 25 - which involves singing a song celebrating Britain and waving Union flags - many on Twitter lambasted the event.

Many in Scotland pointed out that the majority of schools north of the border will have broken up for holidays on Friday, while some in Wales called the event "desperate British nationalism", and in Northern Ireland some residents pointed out they aren't part of the island of Great Britain anyway.

Some also asked if the event would touch on Britain's dark colonial past in educating children about the country's history.

The event aims to help “children earn about our shared values of tolerance, kindness, pride and respect”, and was founded by former Bradford police officer Kash Singh in 2013.

He said: “We started the concept in Bradford and West Yorkshire, and it’s been very, very successful indeed, so what we want to look at is taking it across the nation.

“It was something that was born from my dream as a police officer, in terms of what I’d see, in terms of my passion, pride and frustration, and something that I feel needed to be done in this country.

“This country is a brilliant country, I came to this country as a six-year-old kid who couldn’t speak a word of English, my parents were labourers, they worked in a factory and foundry, and there are fantastic people in this country.

“One of the things that was missing for me was what we need to do, is we need an organisation that the people of this country can align themselves to to showcase their passion, pride and love for this great nation.

“It’s about everybody having this strong shared sense of belonging. It’s about everybody feeling part of this great country.

“We’ve got to eliminate hate and discrimination any time, and that was at the forefront of my mind when I set this organisation up.

“I thought, ‘let’s bring out the best in our people, let our people showcase their passion, pride and love for this great nation, because it’s out there’.

“Some people may have this perception that not everybody is proud of this country – let me tell you, people like me, and the millions of people who’ve settled in this country from other parts of the world, are so proud of this country.

“I think we need to celebrate that and create this spirit of oneness and togetherness, and showcase that we’re all one people of this country regardless of where you’re from.”

A host of schools across the Bradford district and in West Yorkshire are set to take part in the event on Friday.