Sadiq Khan believes UK is most integrated country in the world

Britain was the most integrated country in the world, he said.

But it was still hard for "visible minorities" to feel integrated, even if they had been in the UK for generations, he told a conference.

The answer, he added, was to establish a "base norm" of British values "which we can all sign up to and accept".

And he said it was important to give people a "sense of ownership" over national symbols.

Flag reclaimed

Mr Khan, who was speaking at the Commission for Racial Equality conference in Westminster, said "cultural interaction" and sport were both vital for integration.

He agreed with Conservative higher education spokesman, Boris Johnson, who was also on the panel, that national symbols such as the "flag" were important in fostering a sense of Britishness.

There is a real tension Sadiq Khan

Mr Khan said the national flag had been reclaimed from the far-right who "took it over" in the 1980s.

"Having a sense of ownership of the flag is very important. I remember not going to football matches in the 80s, and even as recently as 2004, not being confident enough of my prospects of not being beaten-up for supporting England," he told the conference.

He stressed the importance of new arrivals learning English, so that they could take full advantage of the opportunities afforded to them.

'Visible minorities'

He also said it was more difficult for members of "visible minorities" such as himself to integrate into British society.

"There is a tension, which some of you may have noticed, between the newly-arrived Eastern Europeans who, frankly, in a generation or two will be accepted and will feel integrated and people...who were born and raised here, and who generations on still, because we are visible minorities, may not feel as integrated as others.

"There is a real tension."

'Political dynamite'

The answer he said was "transparency" and a "base norm" of British values which "we can all sign up to and accept".

These included tolerance and diversity of the type celebrated by the 2012 Olympics bid.

He said Britain was "far more advanced when it comes to integration than any other country in the world".

This point, he argued, was proved by the aftermath of the 7 July bombings in London, when the number of racially-motivated attacks was "way below" that found in America after 11 September.

But he warned the debate about Britishness - started by Chancellor Gordon Brown last year - must not become a code for "what do we do about the Muslim problem".

Mr Johnson said Mr Brown had started the debate because he had a "problem" as a Scot, because more English people voted Conservative than Labour at last year's general election.

And there was growing disquiet about Scottish MPs voting on England-only matters.