“I got a tooth bust by somebody who decided they didn’t like me and I thought the moustache hid a scar on my lip. It’s true that people were told facial hair was not appreciated by the British public, but I just decided to keep the moustache.”

My heroes are the non-commissioned officers. If I had another life thats what Id be – a regimental sergeant major or a similar rank. Thats where the spirit of the armed forces is.

Failure in Afghanistan would have profound consequences for our national security. It would undermine the NATO alliance structure that has been the bedrock of Britain’s defence for the last 60 years… I will not allow this to happen on my watch.

It sometimes occurs to me that the British have more heritage than isgood for them.

Lewis [Hamilton] is a hero in the UK. The British love Formula One. Sebastian (Vettel) is also not doing much for F1. People hardly recognize him on the street.

The British Constitution has always been puzzling and always will be.

Uncontrolled, mass immigration displaces British workers, forces people onto benefits, and suppresses wages for the low-paid.

The reality is that the British monarchy, for good or ill, is a modern political institution – perhaps the first modern political institution.

If the British are a nation of shopkeepers, Americans are a nation of shoppers.

I’m not as big a soccer fan as people might imagine, being British.

I’m still a member of the Empire! Although I sometimes feel like an American with a British accent – you get contaminated after so long.