Under the the Race Relations Act 1976 nationality would be a racial group protected. So if Mr Attwood made a comment based on others 'Englishness' then he be in trouble, and of course vice versa.

let's all hold our breath to see Alex being censured by his colleagues like babydoc was.. or then again perhaps not

Alex would burst into tears to be censored by those he looks up to. It would be just plain cruel. Surely it's enough to simply tell him he MAY have upset somebody from England. That should be more than enough to bring back into line.

Oops - 'censored' should be 'censured'.

Are the English even a nation any more?There's a fair few Labour politicians who don't seem to think so...

Would he have escaped censure if he had referred to the lawyers as 'aliens'?

It was obviously an inappropriate remark on two counts. Firstly, it was a racial put down.
Secondly, and laughably, it was inaccurate.

I think remarks such as that indicate a lack of self-confidence in the person making them.