Andy Burnham opens the door to a formal British apology for slavery but rules out paying reparations
Andy Burnham proposed a "structured dialogue" with affected countries on any formal apology, while firmly ruling out financial reparations ahead of the Commonwealth summit.Britain's role in the transatlantic slave trade prompted Andy Burnham to declare himself open to a formal state apology — a position no previous prime minister had taken.
Writing ahead of next week's Commonwealth heads of government meeting in Antigua, Burnham said he was personally willing to make a formal state apology for slavery — a position no British prime minister has taken before. He firmly ruled out financial reparations, arguing that Britons alive today cannot be "held liable for historical wrongs, however heinous, that happened in a different age under different laws". Former prime minister Gordon Brown has been asked to spearhead an international push to restructure the debts of the poorest Commonwealth nations as a complementary gesture.
Burnham described the trade as a "brutal and barbaric violation" of people "treated as property and worked to their deaths".
Protesters in Antigua are already greeting King Charles with billboards reading 'The royal family enslaved us — apologise now', calling the no-reparations position "extremely insulting".
Downing Street told the BBC the move is "morally the right thing to do", with ministers eyeing Commonwealth solidarity as China and Russia court African nations.
