One of our foremost broadcasters Jeremy Paxman takes a typically forthright look at what the Empire did for the British. He argues that the influence of empire is everywhere. It is there in the very existence of the United Kingdom, in the ethnic makeup of our cities, in the sports we think we are good at and in the architecture of our buildings. It influences our decisions to go to war as well as the way we travel and the food we eat. Paxman, presenter of Newsnight and University Challenge, has written five books. His latest accompanies a major new BBC TV series on the impact of the British Empire.