British empire nostalgia played part in Brexit vote, says Nobel laureate

Abdulrazak Gurnah said imperial attitudes were fuelled by the government withholding details of Britain's colonial past

The Nobel laureate Abdulrazak Gurnah has said he suspects the British empire is still important in Britain" and may well have played a part in the Brexit vote.

The author, 73, born in Zanzibar, told the audience at the Hay festival that he believes there was a sense of we can go alone, because we've done it before" among voters in the 2016 referendum.