Rupert Lowe has said Andy Burnham should tell those demanding a formal apology for Britain's role in the slave trade to "sod off". The Prime Minister said on Friday night that he is open to such calls but would not consider financial reparations.
Mr Burnham's comments came as King Charles tours the Caribbean ahead of the Commonwealth heads of government meeting next week. Caribbean nations have repeatedly called for the UK to apologise for its role in selling enslaved people for profit, and for reparations.
Restore Britain leader hits out
The PM's comments sparked fury among his opponents, including Mr Lowe, who leads Restore Britain. He told the Daily Express: "If Burnham apologises over slavery, he's even more pathetic than we ever imagined. Britain has nothing to apologise for, at all."
"We should be proud of our country's achievements and utterly unapologetic about defending it. Those demanding apologies, reparations and god knows what else are deluding themselves."
The MP for Great Yarmouth added: "Quite frankly - he should tell the lot of them to sod off."
Politicians respond to PM's comments
Shadow Culture Secretary Rebecca Paul said the constant self-flagellation needs to stop. She added: "It’s divisive and serves no-one. It’s absolutely right we acknowledge and remember the full horror of the transatlantic slave trade, but we should also be proud of the role Britain played in ending it."
The Tory MP said Britain led the way in ending the barbaric practice, facing down opposition from other countries. She added: "We should be rightly proud of that. So by all means acknowledge what happened and never ever forget it - but do so honestly, recognising the full story."
Reform UK MP Andrew Rosindell said Mr Burnham would "perhaps" do better by focusing on the 50 million people who are victims of slavery today. He added: "Prince Albert apologised for slavery back in 1840 in a speech at an international anti-slavery meeting in London. 186 years ago."
PM's stance and Caribbean reaction
Estimates from the International Labour Organisation, International Organisation for Migration and Walk Free show about 50 million people were living in slavery in 2021. Prince Albert spoke at a meeting of the Society for the Abolition for Slavery on June 1, 1840. In his first public speech in the UK, he condemned the trade and signalled his regret that efforts to end it by that time had not yet been successful.
Mr Burnham's comments have been received favourably by leaders in the Caribbean. Mia Amor Mottley, Prime Minister of Barbados, said she welcomed her British counterpart's acknowledgement of the slave trade's brutality and his openness to a formal apology.
The British Prime Minister, writing in the Guardian, said: "We are offering a structured dialogue with those affected by the transatlantic slave trade. 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."
In keeping with the policy of his predecessors, he stopped short of offering any consideration of reparation payments. He wrote: "Some have called for financial reparations for the slave trade. I do not believe that is the right answer. 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."
Denis O’Brien, founder of The Repair Campaign, which describes itself as a transatlantic movement for reparatory justice for the Caribbean, said on Friday: "The British Government must stop obfuscating and give a full and formal apology now. This would be a significant and symbolic first step towards reparatory justice. Tonight’s statement from the Prime Minister was disappointing, and will not quell the demand for an apology from the 15 Caricom countries in advance of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Antigua next week."
