Former home secretary lauds Olaudah

Black abolitionist Olaudah Equiano should be more celebrated, according to former home secretary David Blunkett.

In a Guardian article, Blunkett gave Equiano a prominent place among cultural and historical figures who represented his ideal of "an inclusive England".

Embracing those whose culture, colour, religion and lifestyle are different was all part of patriotism.

Blunkett argued for a sense of Englishness and Britishness "defined not on ethnic and exclusive grounds but through shared values, our history of tolerance, openness and internationalism and our commitment to democracy and liberty...."

Celebrating great figures of the past was a way to "affirm our Englishness as part of being British in a new way," said Blunkett.