Now Cameron's tough immigration rules could mean the end of the great British curry night

“Every country needs firm but fair immigration laws,” said former Foreign Secretary Robin Cook in 2001, as a prelude to claiming that successive waves of migration since the Second World War had created a new and better type of British society. Looking for a powerful hook upon which to hang his vision of an open, multicultural society, Cook located it in the nation’s favourite dish: chicken tikka masala. The fusion of “Indian” chicken tikka with the type of thick gravy favoured by many UK citizens “is a perfect illustration of the way Britain absorbs and adapts external influences,” he claimed.