Ms Badenoch said she was concerned that people who agree with Dr Tony Sewell might feel shut down by the actions of the University of Nottingham.

“Ethnic minorities specifically might think, oh, it’s not really worth getting into this discussion. I don’t want my life impacted in this way”, she said.

Ms Badenoch cited “missionaries” as one of the “good things” from Britain’s colonial past.

She added: “And what I find comparing the way we talk about the British Empire now versus how I learned about it in Nigeria, in Nigeria it was actually a very nuanced description there.

“There wasn’t any sort of attempt to describe the British Empire as this really awful, terrible thing that oppressed and victimised us.”

Comments at odds with public mentality shift

Her comments are at odds with the public shift towards recognising the atrocities perpetrated by British occupiers throughout the empire.

Ms Badenoch said she believed it is more helpful to teach children from ethnic minority backgrounds that they are “just the latest generation of an ever-evolving story” rather than “to see themselves as victims”.

The equalities minister said she would continue to “push against” the “destructive narrative” which says that “if you are black, you must be oppressed and a victim. And if you’re not saying that then you’re just denying your reality.”

Speaking to The Telegraph last week, Dr Sewell said he felt “completely vindicated” by the Government’s decision to ratify almost all of the recommendations in his report.

Dr Sewell said: “I feel like the king of the world. I’m only a little poor boy from Brixton, but I feel like I’ve got something that’s going to change the lives of all the children in Britain.”