David Starkey facing backlash over slavery comments as he's slammed as 'racist' by Sajid Javid

Former home secretary Sajid Javid has led the criticism over David Starkey's comments on slavery after the historian claimed it could not be considered genocide because "so many damn blacks survived".

Mr Starkey, known for his history books and documentaries, made the comments on a show hosted by Conservative commentator Darren Grimes.

When asked for his thoughts on slavery, Mr Starkey said: "Slavery was not genocide, otherwise there wouldn't be so many damn blacks in Africa or in Britain, would there? An awful lot of them survived."

Discussing the link between slavery and the British empire, he added: "There's no point in arguing against globalisation or Western civilisation - they are all products of it. We are all products of it.

"The honest teaching of the British empire is to say, quite simply, it was the first key stage of world globalisation. It was probably the most important moment in human history and it is still with us. Its consequences are still (felt) and generally speaking in most ways actually fruitful."

He continued: "The idea that slavery is this kind of terrible disease that dare not speak its name - it only dare not speak its name because we settled it nearly 200 years ago."

The historian's views sparked fury among commentators and politicians, including Mr Javid, who took to Twitter to condemn Mr Starkey's racist comments.

"We are the most successful multi-racial democracy in the world and have much to be proud of," he wrote.

"But David Starkey's racist comments ("so many damn blacks") are a reminder of the appalling views that still exist."

Mail columnist Dan Hodges said the comments demonstrate why there is a need for "some sort of movement".

"People correctly identifying issues with the Black Lives Matter movement," he wrote on Twitter.

"But David Starkey's statement 'Slavery was not genocide, otherwise there wouldn't be so many damn blacks in Africa or in Britain would there?' demonstrates where there's a need for some sort of movement."

Other social media users called Mr Starkey's comments a "disgrace".

One said: "The fact that David Starkey still has the platform he has in the wake of his comments on the 2011 riots tells you everything you need to know about anti-blackness and how it is the guiding principle through which this nation understands itself."

Another wrote: "If you think saying 'slavery was not genocide because there’s so many blacks today' is not racist, imagine David Starkey said 'the Holocaust wasn’t a genocide because there’s still Jews around.' It’s a disgrace."

A third said: "It's hard to think of a more hateful and racist argument than 'It's not genocide because "so many damn blacks" survived' and any publication, channel or organisation that gives Starkey a platform to say this kind of thing is a disgrace."