Kemi Badenoch, leader of Britain’s Conservative Party, has rejected calls for a formal apology over the country’s role in the transatlantic slave trade, saying African kingdoms and merchants also participated in the trade.
Badenoch said Britain should acknowledge the full history of
slavery rather than focus on politically convenient aspects.
She was reacting to comments by British Prime Minister Andy
Burnham, who said he was open to calls for a formal apology on behalf of the
country.
In an opinion article published in The Guardian on Friday,
Burnham described the slave trade as a “brutal and barbaric violation” against
enslaved people.
Responding in a statement on X on Saturday, Badenoch
questioned whether Caribbean countries demanding an apology from Britain would
make similar demands of descendants of African kingdoms and merchants who
captured, sold and profited from the trade.
“Slavery was an evil in which people from every continent
and region participated,” she said.
“We should be honest about the whole history, not select the
parts that are politically convenient today, especially given Britain’s leading
role in ending the transatlantic slave trade.
“If Caribbean countries are asking Britain for a formal
apology for Britain’s role in the transatlantic slave trade, will they also be
asking the same of the descendants of African kingdoms, rulers and merchants
who captured, sold and profited from the trade?
“On demands for reparations, whether through cash or debt
relief, we have been down this track before.”
Badenoch recalled that campaigns such as Jubilee 2000, Drop
the Debt and Make Poverty History had pushed for debt cancellation for poorer
countries 25 years ago, leading to more than $100 billion in debt being written
off.
However, she noted that many of those countries had since
accumulated even larger debts.
Badenoch also said the Labour government was already
spending too much on Britain’s welfare system and should not take on additional
financial responsibilities towards other countries.
“There is no reason British taxpayers today should be held
financially responsible for things that happened generations before any of us
were born,” she said.
“And I have even less patience for political elites in
Commonwealth countries who don’t know how to make their own citizens prosperous
now looking for another opportunity to blame Britain.
“As Prime Minister, Andy Burnham should be Britain’s
greatest defender. Instead, he is writing articles saying we need to confront
our history (as if we haven’t done enough of that) and considering another
formal historical apology.
“Tony Blair already expressed Britain’s deep sorrow and
regret for our role in the slave trade nearly twenty years ago. There is no
need to do so again.”
She described the renewed debate as “another navel-gazing
distraction”, urging Commonwealth countries to prioritise economic partnerships
and security cooperation.
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