A Symbol of Britishness [30min]

What is Britishness? What are the ingredients that bind the inhabitants of these islands together? It's a question that's taken on a new political urgency recently with Gordon Brown speaking out about a need to find new symbols for our national identity, while the London bombings last year cast a shadow over the comfortable belief in a contentedly multi-cultural Britain. Jonathan Freedland discovers that agonising over Britishness is as old as Britain itself, and trying to pin down a symbol for it can be a tricky business.