Further comment from Professor David Anderson on Mau Mau rebellion and Britains imperial legacy

In April the Department of Politics & International Relations website featured a news item entitled :Professor David Anderson expert witness at the High Court on Mau Mau rebellion and commentator on Britains imperial legacy.

Since then David has repeatedly been in the media on this topic: writing articles, being interviewed, writing letters to newspapers.

On 21 July, David was interviewed for Newshour on Al Jazeera TV (English) about the High Court ruling that said four elderly Kenyans could sue the British government following their claims that they were tortured in camps set up by the colonial authorities during the Mau Mau uprising. On the same day, David appeared on The World at One on BBC Radio 4, describing the court proceedings as a landmark case.

Also on 21 July, David was quoted in an article by Dominic Casciani on BBC News Online called Mau Mau Kenyans allowed to sue UK government. The article can be read here. He was also quoted on the same day in an article featured in the International Business Times on the same subject, which can be read here.

On 22 July David wrote a comment article for The Times entitled This is just a start towards justice over end of Empire, in which he said: In Malaya, British troops are alleged to have been involved in the mass killing of unarmed villagers. In Cyprus, where the counter-insurgency campaign pitted the islands Turkish minority against the Greek supporters of Eoka, abusive interrogation methods were used. And in the Gulf states Britain assisted local forces in repelling insurgencies The discovery last January of secret documents relating to 36 of Britains former colonies only serves to fuel suspicions that Britain has something to hide. William Hague, the Foreign Secretary, has said that he intends to put them in the public domain. And the sooner the better. The article is available to subcribers to The Times here.

On the same day, David was quoted in an article for Business Daily Africa, in which he said, The judge has poured scorn on the defence mounted by the legal team representing the British government, calling their arguments dishonourable. The article can be read here.

On July 24 The East African published an article which mentions David, who not only provided scholarly works on the period, but weighed in with expert testimony and, in the case of Oxford University, set a team of graduate students to help plough through the so-called Hanslope Papers, the immense amount of previously hidden and incriminating archival materials found and disclosed by an enterprising FCO staff member at the start of the year. The article can be read here.

On 26 July The Guardian published a comment article by David in which he said: We have long known that Kenya was a dirty war and that bad things happened. But the extent of abuse now being revealed is truly disturbing. The article can be read here.

On 27 July The Times published a letter from David responding to criticisms about his earlier Times article.