Horrible Histories Brexit special labelled ‘anti-British drivel’ by Andrew Neil

Neil, whose Andrew Neil Show is aired on BBC Two and who is also a presenter on Politics Live, tweeted: “This is anti-British drivel of a high order. Was any of the licence fee used to produce something purely designed to demean us?”

In the sketch, Queen Victoria’s footman performs a song suggesting the Victorians only had access to goods because of slavery and imperial might.

Oscar winner Lord Fellowes, who wrote the screenplay to the film Young Victoria, said: “It’s pretty rough involving Queen Victoria in the slavery argument. Slavery had been ruled illegal in Britain in the 1770s and it was abolished in the colonies in 1833.”

And James Cleverly, co-chairman of the Conservative Party, added: “Are Nish and the Horrible Histories Team saying that no matter for how long and how intimately things are part of mainstream life, they aren’t really British if they originated overseas? Sounds a lot like the argument made by the BNP about people like me. And Nish.”

A BBC spokesperson said: “The Horrible Histories video is light-hearted and not anti-British. We are a nation, like most others, that enjoys a patchwork of traditions and culture from other countries. Our children’s audience are able to take these things as intended.”