Re-writing history

It was recently reported that Dominic Cummings was advising the prime minister to be more robust against attempts to rewrite British history in the wake of the Black Lives Matter protest. Consequently, Johnson has stated that the removal of statues is "to lie about our history", as if history is actually set in stone and cannot be changed (Boris Johnson says removing statues is 'to lie about our history' ,12..06.20). Although he has written what many have described as "history books", he clearly does not understand waht history.actually entails. Of course it changes! Isn't that what historians are seeking all the time to achieve? Researching, finding new primary evidence, interviewing participants and detecting bias all mean that history cannot stand still, as this government presumably wants us all to think. The story about the new evidence emerging, revealing a previously secret role of Henry VIII in the execution of Anne Boleyn, is timely (Chilling find shows how Henry VIII planned every detail of Boleyn beheading, 25.10.20). The fact that he explained "precisely how he wanted his second wife to be executed" does not mean that all Tudor history books have to be re-written, but it will have a significant effect on how historians approach the execution in the future, and how the blame should move away from Henry`s "trusty adviser Thomas Cromwell". Thanks to the work of our academic historians, the story of British history is changing, albeit more slowly than many would like. Gradually, much of the mythology is being eroded; no longer is it accepted, for instance, that Britain was actually "alone" in 1940, or that Germany was defeated in both world wars by only Britain. That erosion would be certainly enhanced if Johnson, true to his word about the lies in history, actually allowed our academics to study the millions of history files which governments for years have secreted away in Hanslope Park! Those documents, however, could well prove the non-existence of British "exceptionalism", a concept which helps to explain both Brexit, and Johnson`s election victory!