THE GUARDIAN: Word 'empire' made accepting OBE difficult, says David Olusoga

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David Olusoga, the historian and broadcaster, has said he was pleased to be awarded an OBE, while also feeling troubled by the brutal history of the British empire.

Olusoga, a professor of history at the University of Manchester, has a Nigerian father. He said the honour’s links to Britain’s violent imperial past made it difficult to accept, but he was able to rationalise accepting the honour while recognising the “terrible, terrible episodes” in its history.