Britain has become an irresistible target in recent times for sneering condemnation of its historical period of Empire, even in comments made by our own Foreign Minister, Labor’s Penny Wong. But she’s not alone. Another bizarre example of Empire-bashing was the decision last month of the Scottish actor, Alan Cumming, to return the Order of the British Empire that he had been awarded in 2009, saying that since then his eyes had been opened to the ‘toxicity’ of the Empire.