British Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said he is open to calls for a formal apology for Britain’s historical role in slavery, ahead of next week’s Commonwealth summit, where he is expected to face demands for financial reparations.
In an article for the Guardian newspaper on Saturday (31 October), Burnham said Britain was offering a structured dialogue with those affected by the transatlantic slave trade, in which at least 12.5 million Africans were abducted and sold into slavery.
He said listening to calls for a formal apology on behalf of the British state would form an important part of that process, adding, “I am open to them.”
However, Burnham ruled out financial reparations, arguing that British people today could not be held liable for historical wrongs “that happened in a different age under different laws and in which they played no personal part”.
Instead, he said he wanted to launch a new drive on debt, including helping more vulnerable countries repay over a longer period and at better rates.
Between the 15th and 19th centuries, millions of Africans were sold into slavery by European traders. Britain transported an estimated 3.2 million people across the Atlantic, according to the Transatlantic Slave Trade Database, before the trade was outlawed in 1833.
The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting will take place in Antigua and Barbuda next week. Caribbean leaders are expected to press their demands for reparatory justice, often framed in terms of debt relief, development finance, education, healthcare and climate resilience.
King Charles, who is touring the Caribbean ahead of the summit, said it was “only right that we should acknowledge the great suffering and injustices of the past”.
Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne described Burnham’s comments as a significant and welcome development and welcomed his proposals for practical assistance. But he wrote on Facebook that the Caribbean’s longstanding position on reparatory justice remained unchanged.
Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley also welcomed Burnham’s openness to a formal apology and his offer of dialogue, while noting that differences remained over reparations.
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