The UK’s stance on its role in the slave trade is shifting, but reparations remain off the table

LONDON (AP) — Prime Minister Andy Burnham has expressed openness to offering a formal apology for Britain's involvement in the trans-Atlantic slave trade. This marks a significant shift in the U.K.'s stance in a long-standing debate over whether the country should acknowledge and address the consequences of its past. Burnham stated that discussing the legacies of slavery is the "right thing to do," rather than ignoring it.

However, he firmly rejected calls for the U.K. to pay reparations to descendants of slaves, stating that modern British people cannot be held responsible for historical wrongs committed under different laws and circumstances. Instead, Burnham proposed leading a program of debt restructuring to assist the poorest countries in the Commonwealth, an association of 56 independent nations that originated from the British Empire.

His stance received a cautious welcome, but the issue of reparations remains unresolved. While Caribbean countries welcomed Burnham's suggestion of an apology, they maintained that it is insufficient without reparations, which they argue are necessary to address the injustices of the past.