David Harewood, the actor best known for his role in Homeland, has said the British government should “100%” apologise for the country's role in the slave trade. He made the comments after discovering his ancestors were enslaved on sugar plantations in Barbados.
Speaking to the BBC, Harewood said the government's failure to say sorry was “detrimental to the many thousands of people in the country who are descended from slaves”. His ancestors were enslaved on plantations owned by the Lascelles family, the Earls of Harewood, who built Harewood House in West Yorkshire.
Harewood and the current Earl of Harewood, David Lascelles, are now acknowledging their shared history by placing a portrait of the actor among the family portraits at Harewood House. The earl said: “Being honest about the past is the only way to start to address the prejudices of the present.”
The earl also believes the government should make a formal apology, criticising Prime Minister Rishi Sunak for failing to do so. Sunak has previously said “trying to unpick our history is not the right way forward”. The current earl has not apologised for his own family's involvement, though he said he would consider a personal apology if Harewood asked directly.
Harewood hopes visitors to Harewood House will see his portrait and understand the “unpaid work” and “brutality” his ancestors suffered, which helped build the estate. The issue of reparations remains current, with Barbados leading calls and the descendants of William Gladstone recently apologising for their ancestors' links to the slave trade.
