Welsh protest in very plain language

A Government drive to use "plain English" in official documents has been renamed - because the term offended the Welsh.

The phrase will be replaced by "plain language", in a move which critics condemned as excessive political correctness.

The Department of Education has already ushered in the change, without making any formal announcement. The Cabinet Office is the latest department to make the switch.

A spokesman confirmed that, out of consideration for Welsh-speakers, all reference to "plain English" had been removed from instructions to Whitehall chiefs on how to run websites.

The decision was taken after the Welsh Language Board in Cardiff wrote to the so-called e-Envoy Andrew Pinder, urging him to make the switch.

A spokesman for the Cardiff-based board said: "We think it's a matter of good practice. There's plain Welsh as well as plain English, so 'plain language' is a better term because it encompasses both."

Margaret Thatcher launched the drive for plain-speaking during her time at No 10 when she declared: "Plain English must be the aim of all who work in Government."

Ministers regularly clear forms and documents with the Plain English Campaign, which awards "crystal marks" to those that are easily understood.

A spokesman for the campaign, founded in 1979, said there were no plans to change its name - and suggested the change was being carried out for politically correct motives.