UK government rejects slavery reparations as Jamaica urges king to act

Britain says slavery was abhorrent and continues to express sorrow over its history, but the government has drawn a firm line at financial compensation. A spokesperson for Prime Minister Andy Burnham said on Monday that “the UK does not and will not pay reparations”.

Successive British governments have acknowledged the horrors of slavery and accepted that Britain benefited significantly from the trade. But they have never formally apologised for the country’s role in sustaining it, nor agreed to discuss reparations.

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The UK does not and will not pay reparations.

Jamaica is pressing the issue through the monarchy. A delegation led by Culture Minister Olivia Grange delivered a petition to Buckingham Palace asking King Charles III to seek legal advice from the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in London. The petition asks 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 compensate for the harms caused by slavery.

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Once again Charles ducks for cover when the issue of slavery and empire is raised.

The Judicial Committee is the final court of appeal for Jamaica and several other Commonwealth countries and territories. Jamaica is seeking $10 billion in reparations and says this is the first attempt by a Commonwealth country to use that legal route. Charles was in Scotland and did not attend the delivery of the petition.

Anti-monarchy campaigner Graham Smith accused the king of avoiding the issue, saying, “Once again Charles ducks for cover when the issue of slavery and empire is raised”. Grange is also seeking the return of Caribbean artefacts held in British museums. Despite the king’s absence and the government’s refusal to pay, she told Reuters she was “encouraged”. Last month, a United Nations committee said countries have a legal obligation to consider reparations, warning that racial discrimination cannot be addressed without a full commitment to reviewing and redressing the continuing harms of slavery and the trafficking of enslaved Africans.

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Encouraged.