UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham opens door to slavery apology, rejects reparations demand
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Andy Burnham said Britain may issue a formal apology for slavery, but he ruled out paying reparations, instead backing debt restructuring and climate aid for poorer Commonwealth countries.
U.K. Prime Minister Andy Burnham said his government is prepared to offer a formal apology for Britain’s historic involvement in the trans-Atlantic slave trade, while firmly rejecting any financial reparations. Burnham laid out his position in an opinion piece published in The Guardian ahead of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Antigua and Barbuda, insisting that the matter should be handled through diplomacy rather than endless guilt politics.
He argued that avoiding the issue has harmed the Commonwealth’s ability to function and that a structured dialogue with affected countries is essential. > "Listening to calls for a formal apology on behalf of the British state will form an important part of this process, and I am open to them," Burnham said.
Burnham also announced that former U.K. Prime Minister Gordon Brown would lead a debt-restructuring initiative for the poorest Commonwealth members, and that the United Kingdom would support their transition to cleaner energy sources, focusing on practical assistance instead of open-ended financial demands.
Barbadian Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley welcomed the statement, noting that opinions differ on reparations. Author and Lok Sabha MP Shashi Tharoor, who has advocated for broader atonement for colonialism, praised the willingness to apologise for slavery but criticised the omission of a larger apology for colonial rule. > "I have long argued that whatever reparations are offered by Britain, no credible figure is payable and no payable figure is credible. But moral atonement for the ravages of colonialism is indispensable," Tharoor told The Hindu.
The comments come as King Charles III, the Commonwealth’s titular head, acknowledged past injustices during his Caribbean tour, stopping short of an official apology.