British people forming couple (5)
I believe the answer is:
brace
'couple' is the definition.
(brace can mean a pair of something)
'british people' is the wordplay.
'british' becomes 'b' (abbreviation e.g. in 'BBC').
'people' becomes 'race' (people can mean a national group or race).
'b'+'race'='BRACE'
'forming' is the link.
(Other definitions for brace that I've seen before include "hand tool" , "Strengthen; pair" , "Pair - wood-boring tool" , "Teeth straightener" , "Carpenter's tool for a pair" .)