UK government weighs formal apology for slave trade role but rules out financial reparations

UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said his government is considering a formal apology for Britain's role in the trans-Atlantic slave trade, while rejecting financial reparations. The issue is live ahead of a Commonwealth leaders' meeting in the Caribbean, which Burnham is due to attend next week. The Commonwealth is the grouping of 56 nations that grew out of the British Empire.

What Burnham said

In a column in The Guardian, he wrote that Britain needs to acknowledge its "complicated history". In his view, Commonwealth members affected by the slave trade have for years asked for an honest conversation, and avoiding it has harmed the Commonwealth's ability to function. His government is offering to begin a "structured dialogue" with affected countries.

Burnham stressed that British people today cannot be held liable for historic wrongs in which they played no personal part. Instead, he said he would launch a new drive to restructure debt for the poorest Commonwealth countries, to be led by former prime minister Gordon Brown, helping them repay on more favourable terms. Cabinet minister Emma Reynolds told Sky News that an apology would be symbolically powerful but would not lead to financial reparations.

Current UK government policy is not to apologise. King Charles visited the Caribbean this week and faced calls to apologise and pay reparations. He acknowledged the "great suffering and injustices of the past" but did not apologise.

Caribbean reaction

Barbados' prime minister, Mia Mottley, welcomed Burnham's openness to a formal apology and dialogue. She noted the different approach to reparations but said this should not block progress on health, education, tackling poverty and fairer debt terms. Antigua and Barbuda's prime minister, Gaston Browne, called the comments a "significant and welcome development" and repeated calls for reparations.

Opposition criticism

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch criticised the apology idea. She also rejected rejoining the European Union.