Back to Gideon RachmanI am just back from watching a citizenship ceremony at the Tower of London. The new Britons swear an oath of loyalty to the crown, in which they are referred to as subjects rather than citizens. Then they go and get a certficate and their photo taken with a man in a fancy uniform, in front of a Union Jack and a portrait of the Queen. Then everybody sings the national anthem: just the first two verses, so that the new citizens do not have to engage with that confusing passage about “crushing rebellious Scots”.
The citizenship ceremony is a new thing in Britain. One of my neighbours at the FT recalls that when he became a citizen many years ago, all that happened was that he got a letter from the Home Secretary saying that he was “minded” to grant him citizenship. He then had to go a local solicitor’s office and swear an oath of loyalty to the monarch. The solicitor said merrily - “I’ll give her a call and tell her.”
I always found this British casualness about citizenship quite re-assuring. It seems self-confident and under-stated - which are two of the better national characteristics. But 9/11 and an increasing awareness of the impact of immigration on Britain has changed things. The government brought in a citizenship ceremony - loosely modelled on the US. The first one took place in Britain in January, 2004.
I found today’s ceremony genuinely moving. My favourite family group was a mother, father and daughter from China - the little girl in bright red, plastic raincoat, holding up her certificate for the cameras. The sheer range of places people have come from is dazzling. They announce the birth-place of each new citizen, as they come up to get their certificates. They got as far as 16 countries, before one was repeated - Australia. The roll-call went: Sierra Leone, Australia, Colombia, Hong Kong, Bulgaria, Somalia, Congo, Uganda, Ivory Coast, the Phillipines, the USA, China, New Zealand, South Africa, Bangladesh, Australia (again). There were also former Turks, Russians and Thais. The largest single contingent were Bangladeshis. But then came Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and the US.
Where else would you get such a diverse range of new immigrants.?Perhaps only in New York. And maybe not even there.
This blog covers a variety of topics from US foreign policy to European politics and the Middle East - and whatever else happens to be in the news or catch my attention. I joined the FT as chief foreign affairs commentator in 2006, after a 15-year career at The Economist which included stints as a correspondent in Brussels, Bangkok and Washington. I write a weekly column on foreign affairs, which appears in the paper on Tuesdays. Occasionally my FT colleagues contribute posts to this blog.
Geoff Dyer is the FT's China bureau chief. He has been a correspondent in Shanghai and in Brazil and has also covered the pharmaceuticals and biotechnology industries from London.
Roula Khalaf is the FT's Middle East editor. She has worked for the FT since 1995, first as North Africa correspondent, then Middle East correspondent and most recently as Middle East editor. Before joining the FT, she was a staff writer for Forbes magazine in New York. 
James Blitz is the FT's defence and diplomatic editor. He has been the FT's political editor, based in London, and Rome bureau chief. James is a former Moscow bureau chief for the Sunday Times.
Alan Beattie is the FT's world trade editor. He has previously been economics leader writer and spent two years in Washington DC as chief US economics correspondent. Before joining the FT, Alan was an economist at the Bank of England. 
Victor Mallet is the FT's Madrid bureau chief. He is a former Asia editor of the FT, and, in more than 20 years at the organisation, has also worked in Africa, Europe and the Middle East. In 1990 he escaped from Kuwait after being one of the few foreign correspondents there when Iraq invaded. 
Stefan Wagstyl is the FT's eastern Europe editor, co-ordinating coverage of the region. He has also been the FT's bureau chief in Tokyo and New Delhi.
