TO many people living in the UK, the royal family embodies a British tradition of empire as well as the glory and prominence on the world stage that it represents. The death of Prince Philip has witnessed an outpouring of grief which, though largely orchestrated by a gushingly subservient media, still acts as a reminder of a self- delusional national consciousness that believes Britain remains great and harks back to the mythical days of empirical bliss.

Mark Brown’s outstanding contribution to Sunday’s National reminds us clearly of the callous and pernicious nature of the British empire, the global disorder it has left in its wake and that there are good reasons why a total of 65 countries have gained independence from the British empire, never to return to their “benevolent” control (Uncle Eric, the family oppressor, April 11).

READ MORE: Mark Brown: My ancestral research brought skeletons tumbling from the family closet

Mr Brown’s fascinating study of his great grand-uncle, Eric Medlock, highlights the rationale behind those empirical leaders who occupied other lands, maltreated the indigenous population, plundered all natural resources and then disingenuously declared altruistic motives.

Eric Medlock was awarded a British Empire Medal (BEM) in 1937 for “meritorious service” in the British Palestine Police. The fact that this service included carrying out atrocities against the people of Palestine should tell any reader all they need to know about the way that the British empire is viewed by many in the UK establishment and by the unfortunate people who were conquered by them.

Mark Brown’s personalised account is about Palestine but it could have just as well been about India, Egypt, Ireland or any number of other lands that fell under the heel of British domination. The current Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, is a personification of the British empire at its worst. He is utterly without any moral code, continually mendacious to serve his own interests and has little or no sense of responsibility. He views himself as being above the law, is impervious to the travails of others and reeks of entitlement.

The people of Scotland now have a golden opportunity to leave this disunited kingdom behind with its antediluvian, forelock-tugging fealty to the monarchy and a rose-tinted, xenophobic depiction of empire. The skeleton in Mr Brown’s cupboard is a stark attestation of the murky depths of the British state, then and now.

Owen Kelly
Stirling