It wasn’t long ago that the implications of a demographic ‘time bomb’ in Western Europe generally referred to the socio-economic management of ageing populations.

In the light of the appalling events in Cologne last New Year’s Eve, we should seek guidance from our political leaders as to how they intend managing the entirely unforeseen ‘time bomb’ of young rootless males from a very different culture.

Any negative reference to the influx of predominantly Muslim refugees runs the gauntletof xenophobia.

However, when we read that schools in Britain are considering changes to their exam time-tables in order to accommodate the supposed needs of Ramadan, then it is clear that multiculturalism and its effects upon Western societies is an urgent topic for rational discussion.