Andy Burnham has faced criticism after stating he is "open" to a formal apology for Britain's role in the transatlantic slave trade, while firmly ruling out financial reparations. His comments came shortly after King Charles began a nine-day tour of the Caribbean, where protesters demanded an apology and reparations for slavery.
King Charles Tour and Reaction
On the first day of the tour, King Charles described slavery as "the great suffering of the past" during a speech in the Bahamas, but stopped short of issuing a formal apology. The prime minister was accused of humiliating the King, while others criticised him for opening up the discussion for Britain to potentially pay reparations.
Burnham, the MP for Makerfield, has now been criticised on News24, with Samara Gill claiming the UK is "broke" and "spiralling out of control".
Criticism on News24
"I hope he's not serious because the country is broke as you said," she told host James Macpherson. "We've got interest on our debt costing us over £3,000 a second. We're spiraling out of control."
"It's looking like the IMF [International Monetary Fund] might have to bail us out at some point because of the economic decline that Britain has faced," she continued.
"And of course, the thing on the front pages today in this country is, 'Oh yeah, we should be handing out reparations for slavery.' That, mind you, no one alive in this country had anything to do with," she added. "That's how long ago it was. And in my opinion, Britain abolished the slave trade and we should be compensated for the fact that we did that as a country."
Modern Slavery Concerns
Gill argued that Britain should not be expected to apologise, before calling out Burnham for failing to address modern slavery, which continues to affect millions of people worldwide in countries such as Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and India.
"What about talking about that?" Samara asked, adding: "There's 50 million people in modern slavery today. We've got illegal migrants that are coming across the channel."
"A lot of the time they're promised, 'Don't pay for your trip over. Pay when you get here,' which is a form of human trafficking. I don't hear Andy Burnham talking about that, ever."
In an article for The Guardian, Burnham said that "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".
Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch also criticised the prime minister, saying she was "worried" that the summit would be "yet another opportunity for people to start asking Britain for money because of the slave trade".
