Government ministers and Conservative backbench MPs have increasingly been on the frontline of a culture war their critics have accused them of largely manufacturing for political gain. Here are some of the most notable volleys they have fired. Defend our culture and history from the noisy minority of activists constantly trying to do Britain down. – Oliver Dowden Dowden, the culture secretary, attacked the National Trust for researching its properties’ links to Britain’s central involvement in the transatlantic slave trade. Ollie Robinson’s tweets were offensive and wrong. They are also a decade old and written by a teenager. The teenager is now a man and has rightly apologised. The ECB has gone over the top by suspending him and should think again. – Oliver Dowden The culture secretary again, this time defying calls from those who oppose the England men’s football team taking the knee to keep politics out of sport. He was referring to the suspension of the England cricketer over racist tweets. Dowden’s stance was backed by the prime minister’s spokesman. [Boris Johnson] fully respects the right of those who choose to peacefully protest and make their feelings known. On taking the knee, specifically, the prime minister is more focused on action rather than gestures. – Boris Johnson’s spokesman The prime minister was more reluctant to intervene on behalf of English sportsmen when it came to them being booed by their own fans for making an overtly anti-racist gesture. Oxford University students removing a picture of the Queen is simply absurd. She is the head of state and a symbol of what is best about the UK. During her long reign, she has worked tirelessly to promote British values of tolerance, inclusivity and respect around the world – Gavin Williamson Williamson, the education secretary, felt sufficiently moved to intervene after Oxford graduate students voted to remove a picture of the Queen from their common room because they felt it represented the UK’s “recent colonial history”. It’s time we stopped our cringing embarrassment about our history, about our traditions, and about our culture, and we stopped this general fight of self-recrimination and wetness. – Boris Johnson After the BBC confirmed plans to have Rule, Britannia! played in instrumental form only at the Last Night of the Proms, citing artistic concerns, the prime minister felt the need to intervene.