The Dutch government should do much more to protect the Netherlands’ colonial history which is stored in foreign countries, according to a Liberal VVD MP.

Michiel van Veen is introducing a change in the law which will allow Dutch ambassadors to enforce the return of archives which can then be properly stored.

A majority in parliament is in favour of the move because the archives are currently rotting away in inappropriate storage facilities abroad.

‘We should not just protect our culture in the Netherlands,’ Van Veen told the Telegraaf, ‘but also what is overseas.’

He blames the current situation on the way in which there is ‘a certain tendency’ to look at colonial history.