Prime Minister Andy Burnham has been accused of letting down King Charles and handing a “weapon” to campaigners who want Britain to pay reparations for slavery. The Labour leader has announced he is “open” to the UK formally apologising for the role it played in the transatlantic slave trade while ruling out financial reparations.
There is anger that his comments landed while King Charles is touring the Caribbean, with Commonwealth heads of Government coming together shortly in St John's, Antigua and Barbuda.
PM's stance on apology and reparations
Ahead of the gathering, Mr Burnham said he wanted to express his “sorrow and regret for the pain and suffering of so many millions of people, and to recognise the way it still shapes our world today”.
He said Britain is offering a “structured dialogue with those affected by the transatlantic slave trade,” adding: “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.”
But during his tour this week, where he has visited The Bahamas and Guyana, Charles is understood to have been following the previous Government advice that there would be no apology.
Political criticism over timing
Former Brexit minister David Jones warned: “Andy Burnham has demonstrated his lack of both judgment and experience. An apology would be seized on by reparations campaigners as a downpayment, with British taxpayers expected to foot the bill for crimes committed centuries before they were born. His assurance that he would not pay will do nothing to discourage those demands. To float this idea while the King is overseas, faithfully following his Government’s advice not to apologise, is astonishingly irresponsible. Burnham has let his own sovereign down and handed campaigners a weapon to use against him. The King is there to strengthen Commonwealth ties, not to be left exposed by the British Prime Minister’s ineptitude.”
Former Home Secretary Dame Priti Patel said the Prime Minister should be working to support the Commonwealth rather than “looking at the past”.
“Burnham needs to stop looking at the past, rewriting history and get on with dealing with the challenges Britain faces after two years of Labour’s higher taxes, higher unemployment and the cost of living pressures Labour have inflicted upon the British public. The Commonwealth leaders summit is led by HM the King and Burnham should be working to support the shared endeavours for the future of the Commonwealth and stop looking at the past.”
Burnham's position on financial reparations
In an article in the Guardian, Mr Burnham set out why he did not believe financial reparations are the “right answer” to the legacy of the slave trade, saying: “I do not think that British people today can be held liable for historical wrongs, however heinous, that happened in a different age under different laws and in which they played no personal part.”
