Outcry as British Council quits Europe to woo Muslim world

It is not just in Athens that the British Council is winding down. Across Europe, half a century of promoting British culture and values is slowly being wound down in favour of a huge increase in funding for activities in the Middle East and Muslim world.

Iraq, Afghanistan and Bangladesh are among 'high priority' regions that will also receive a 50 per cent boost in support for projects to steer Muslims away from extremism.

'You cannot succeed unless you enter into risky areas and are prepared to deal with them,' Cathy Stephens, acting director of British Council operations, told The Observer. 'We are in transformational mood,' she said, acknowledging that, while security is an issue, the ultimate aim is to win over the hearts and minds of men and women in predominantly young populations across the Arab world.

Win hearts and minds? Didnt the Americans say that when they went into Iraq?

We're trying to impose our culture and values on the culture of countries that don't share them, in the extraordinary conviction that we are right.