A NATIONAL newspaper website has attracted hundreds of comments after uploading a feature about the prospect of Cornish independence.

The Guardian's website posted an editorial by human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell on Monday evening.

By yesterday morning it had attracted more than 260 comments and been placed second in the table of most commented on pieces on The Guardian's Comment is Free pages.

Tatchell used his piece to examine the issue of self-rule for Cornwall and highlighted a campaign being run by Bodmin campaigner John Angarrack to have the Cornish included in the Council of Europe Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities (FCPNM).

A Cornish Fighting Fund has been established by Angarrack aiming to raise £100,000 so that a legal case can be brought to have the Cornish included in the FCPNM.

In his article Tatchell posed the question as to why Cornwall should not be an independent state in the EU.

However many of the comments posted on the website in response to the article mocked the idea.

They also questioned why, if there is such a claim for Cornish independence why Mebyon Kernow does not get more support at local and national elections.

Many Cornish people also responded to the article, most praising Tatchell for highlighting the issue on a national website.

North Cornwall MP Dan Rogerson also took part in the debate, stating that he was supportive of the efforts to have Cornish recognised as a national minority.

To view the article go to the website at www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree

For more information about the Cornish Fighting Fund go to www.cornishfightingfund.org