Is Britain really the windiest country in Europe?

A recent article in the Sun claimed that Britain is Europe’s windiest country. The article reported that an advert from Scottish ice cream firm Mackies claimed this and the Advertising Standards Authority backed the claim saying 'we were advised by the Met Office that the UK was the windiest country in Europe'. So, is this true?

I emailed Mackies and the Met Office to ask for evidence for the claim. The Met Office informed me that they 'did not categorically say that Britain is Europe's windiest country, however, there is some evidence to back this up. In terms of baseline long-term averages for 'windiness', the British Isles is third, behind two areas that are predominantly open seas (North Sea and Baltic Sea). Therefore it's reasonable to draw the conclusion that the UK is one of the windiest countries in Europe.'

Although I received no response from Mackies, it seems that Britain really is the windiest land area in Europe.