I thought I had heard everything in the debate over Britain´s membership of the European Union and then London Mayor Boris Johnson claimed that US President Barack Obama had an "ancestral dislike of the British Empire" because of his heritage: the president is part Kenyan. Firstly, I sincerely doubt that Obama would be staying as a guest of Queen Elizabeth in London if he disliked the British Empire, because after all the British monarch regularly hands out awards and decorations which have a strong connection with the former British Empire. Secondly, I sincerely doubt that it is really relevant to involve the British Empire in the debate over Europe. Johnson, the days of Empire are well and truly over. Britain should try and be a modern European nation, proud of its history but looking forward and not backwards. Johnson´s comments are another reminder that some sections of the "Pull Out of Europe camp" are stuck in a bygone era when Britannia ruled the waves and the sun never set over the Empire. I would say that Johnson made a big mistake by criticising the president, who underlined the fact that Britain should stay in the European Union. It could be argued that the London mayor appears to be losing the plot slightly. It is not a good idea to criticise the leader of your key ally, especially when you are talking about building a new trading "empire" outside the European Union which involves the US heavily.