The United Kingdom’s government has reiterated that it rejects reparations for Britain’s role in the transatlantic slave trade as Jamaica has petitioned King Charles III over the issue. Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s spokesperson said on Monday that “the UK does not and will not pay reparations”. Successive British governments have refused to engage in discussions about slavery reparations, while accepting that the country significantly benefitted from the trade. UK leaders have previously acknowledged the horrors of slavery and continue to do so, but have never formally apologised for Britain’s role in sustaining it.
Burnham’s spokesperson labelled the practice as “abhorrent”, but maintained that position and insisted no compensation will be paid. A delegation led by Jamaican Culture Minister Olivia Grange delivered a petition to Buckingham Palace on Monday, asking King Charles to seek legal advice from the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in London. The petition poses three questions for the king to consider: whether the enslavement of Africans in Jamaica was legal under English law; whether it violated international law; and whether the UK has a legal obligation to provide compensation for the harms caused by slavery. The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council is the final court of appeal for Jamaica and some other Commonwealth countries and territories.
The Jamaican delegation is seeking $10bn in reparations and says it is the first time a Commonwealth country has tried to use this legal route. King Charles is currently in Scotland and was not present at the palace as the petition was delivered. “Once again Charles ducks for cover when the issue of slavery and empire is raised,” said Graham Smith, CEO of anti-monarchy campaign group Republic. Minister Grange is also seeking the return of Caribbean artefacts held in British museums. Despite the king’s absence, and the government’s reiteration that reparations will not be paid, Grange told the Reuters news agency that she was “encouraged”.
Last month, a United Nations committee concluded that countries are legally obliged to consider slavery reparations, warning that racial discrimination could not be tackled without “a full commitment to review and redress the ongoing harms and consequences of the trafficking of enslaved Africans and racialised slavery”.
