BBC•GETTY David Olusoga has claimed Winston Churchill was a war criminal

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And David Olusoga, who co-presents the BBC’s new Civilisations series, said those who criticised tributes to various historical figures should not be derided as “snowflakes”.



Mr Olusoga made his sensational claims during a speech to the Oxfordshire Literary Festival.



Suggesting that "almost all historical figures did good and bad", Mr Olusoga said academics were entering a period of ‘history wars’ in which accepted versions of Britain’s past are being challenged.



He explained: “So while I’m personally glad that Churchill overcame Halifax in early 1940 and it was Churchill who faced the Nazis that year and the years that followed, that doesn’t mean that he wasn’t somebody that wasn’t responsible, or largely responsible, for the Bengal famine of 1943-44.

GETTY Mr Olusoga claimed even some members of his cabinet found Mr Churchill's views "shocking"

It doesn’t mean that he wasn’t someone who took part in things we would consider war crimes in Africa. Historian David Olusoga

“It doesn’t mean that he wasn’t someone who took part in things we would consider war crimes in Africa.



“It doesn’t mean that his views, the things he espoused, were shocking to members of his Cabinet, never mind to people at the time.



“We’re going to have to accommodate the fact that these things are true, and there are two sides to these stories and we’re not good at it.”



Mr Olusoga claimed people were brought up with a “certain version” of British history so that some subjects become “sacrosanct”.

Winston Churchill in pictures Sun, May 10, 2015 Winston Churchill died in January 24, 1965 Play slideshow PA 1 of 43 Sir Winston Churchill shows the peace sign while smoking a cigar in 1954

He added: “Certain people, we only want to hear the good things that they do. Certain events, we only want to hear the stories that we’re familiar with.



‘And other people want to tell different stories, so we have this conflict. I think these are the history wars we are having.”



He cited a statue of slave trader Edward Colton in Bristol, explaining that one woman had told him she had felt “humiliated” by a statue of someone who had owned her ancestors towering over her as she cycled to work.



Mr Olusoga said: “I think we’re struggling to come to terms with the fact that things we’re familiar with actually mean something to somebody else and it’s a real challenge.