Britain: The Cornish are to be recognised as a national minority group for the first time

Chief Secretary Danny Alexander announced the decision saying that it meant for the first time that Cornish people would receive the same rights and protections as other minorities in Britain. It will also mean that they are classified under the European Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities the same as Britain's other Celtic populations, the Scots, the Welsh and the Irish. Residents of Cornwall traditionally spoke a Celtic language similar to that of France's Brittany region. The Cornish and Welsh are the oldest peoples on the island of Britain.