John Cleese insists he is not a racist after saying London is 'not an English city any more'

John Cleese has defended his assertion that London is “not an English city any more” following a backlash.

The British actor, 79, tweeted a message reminding his 5.6 million followers that he expressed the same belief in 2011, this time adding that his friends abroad now agree with him.

“There must be some truth in it,” the former Monty Python member wrote, adding: ”I note also that London was the UK city that voted most strongly to remain in the EU.”

After the comments received widespread criticism, Cleese, who moved to the Caribbean island Nevis last year, defended himself on Twitter.

“It might interest those people who seem to think my remarks about London are racist as opposed to culturalist, to consider that what I like about spending time in Nevis,” he wrote.

“Nevis has excellent race relations, a very well educated population, no sign of political correctness... no sign of Rupert Murdoch, conscientious lawyers, a relaxed and humorous life style, a deep love of cricket, and a complete lack of knife crime And, of course, wonderful weather.

“And the icing on the cake is that Nevis is not the world centre for Russian dirty money laundering.”

Cleese also retweeted messages of support and wrote alongside one: “I think it’s legitimate to prefer one culture to another. For example, I prefer cultures that do not tolerate female genital mutilation. Will this will be considered racist by all those who hover, eagerly hoping that someone will offend them – on someone else’s behalf, naturally

Cleese’s initial comments attracted ire from many people, including London Mayor Sadiq Khan, who said the actor was sounding like his character Basil Fawlty from Fawlty Towers.

Comedian Dom Joly also criticised Cleese, writing on Twitter: “He’s clearly a really smart funny man but it is basically a very racist tweet. Secondly, its a racist tweet by a man who lives on a Caribbean island – the irony of that is insane.“

Author Caitlin Moran added: “John Cleese is in the process of moving to Nevis, in the Caribbean. I hope there’s a old Nevisian comedian ready to moan about how Charlestown won’t ‘really be a Nevisian town any more.’ Goddamn immigrants.”

Cleese returned to Twitter to defend his statements and respond to some of his detractors.

“I suspect I should apologise for my affection for the Englishness of my upbringing,” he wrote, responding to one user who told him she “can’t stand Englishness”.

“But in some ways I found it calmer, more polite, more humorous, less tabloid, and less money-oriented than the one that is replacing it.”

Cleese also rebuked a user who accused him of using the word “English” to imply the city was no longer “white”.

“No. Why do you try to discredit me for criticising things I have not said,” he replied. “Keep your projections to yourself.”

Cleese, who said he was going to vote for Brexit ahead of the EU referendum in 2017, announced plans to move to the Caribbean last year expressing a disappointment with Britain.

The actor, who co-founded iconic comedy troupe Monty Python before going on to co-write and star in the sitcom Fawlty Towers, argued the standard of debate around Brexit was “awful”.

Cleese, who turned down a life peerage for political services in 1999, has been an outspoken supporter of electoral and press reform.

Talking to Newsnight in 2018 about his new home, he said: “It’s one of the nicest islands I’ve ever been on. The relationship between the races is absolutely superb. The people there are really kind.”