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Burnham 'open' to calls for slavery apology but not reparations
· Confirmed
In Short: British Prime Minister Andy Burnham has ruled out financial reparations for slavery despite longstanding Caribbean demands, according to statements made ahead of the Commonwealth leaders’ summit in Antigua and Barbuda.
Burnham offered structured talks with countries and campaign groups affected by slavery, including discussions on whether Britain should issue an official state apology.
Burnham’s stance maintains the position of previous British governments, despite his willingness to discuss an apology.
In an op-ed published in The Guardian, Burnham wrote, “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.”
Barbadian Prime Minister Mia Mottley welcomed the opening for talks but reiterated her government’s position on reparations.
Burnham expressed his personal “sorrow and regret” for the suffering caused by the transatlantic slave trade, but rejected calls for financial reparations, stating, “I do not believe that is the right answer.” He added, “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.”
Caribbean nations renewed their calls for Britain to apologize for its role in selling enslaved people for profit and for reparations, while the King toured the region.
Burnham’s comments show a marked shift in stance for the U.K., which has consistently rejected demands for either an apology or reparations.
The Commonwealth comprises 56 countries, mostly former British colonies, whose Caribbean members have long pressed Britain to acknowledge slavery’s legacy and offer redress.
Burnham’s intervention follows years of pressure from Caribbean states, backed by some African countries, for European nations including the UK, France, and Spain to offer reparations, including monetary compensation, a full formal apology, support for health and education, and debt cancellation.
Burnham also said that former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown will assist with the initiative, adding that more than 40 percent of the world’s poorest and most vulnerable countries spend more on debt interest than on healthcare.
Burnham noted that debt-servicing costs for these countries had reached their highest levels in more than 25 years.
Burnham’s statement was welcomed by the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Afrikan Reparations, with its chair Bell Ribeiro-Adday telling BBC Radio 4's Today programme the issue was not just about money.
Background
British Prime Minister Andy Burnham has expressed sorrow and regret for the suffering caused by the transatlantic slave trade but has ruled out financial reparations, according to statements made ahead of the Commonwealth leaders’ summit in Antigua and Barbuda.
What's confirmed
- The prime minister has ruled out financial reparations despite longstanding Caribbean demands ahead of Commonwealth leaders’ summit.
- Britain’s prime minister has opened the door to a formal apology for its role in the transatlantic slave trade, while ruling out financial reparations.
- “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,” Burnham wrote.
- The PM expressed his personal “sorrow and regret” for the suffering caused by the transatlantic slave trade as calls mount for Britain to issue a formal apology Andy Burnham has said he is "open" to calls for Britain to apologise for its role in the slave trade, but ruled out reparations, claiming Brits today could "not be held liable for historical wrongs".
- British Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said he is open to calls for a formal apology for Britain's role in the transatlantic slave trade, but has ruled out financial reparations ahead of next week's Commonwealth summit in Antigua and Barbuda.
- Denis O'Brien, founder of The Repair Campaign, which advocates for reparations for slavery for Caribbean nations, said the UK government "must stop obfuscating and give a full and formal apology now".
- His comments come as Caribbean nations renewed their calls for Britain to apologise for its role in selling enslaved people for profit, and for reparations, while the King toured the region.
- Burnham again rejected financial compensation, writing: "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." Britain profited for centuries from colonialism and the slave trade.
- He called the trade a “brutal and barbaric violation” of people “treated as property and worked to their deaths”.
- Britain's Prime Minister Andy Burnham chairs a meeting of the National Economic Council in Glasgow on October 30, 2026, that focuses on driving growth in every region of the United Kingdom.
- The Prime Minister, who is due to attend the Commonwealth heads of government meeting (Chogm) in the Caribbean next week, expressed his personal “sorrow and regret” for the suffering caused by the transatlantic slave trade and said he wanted to offer a “structured dialogue” with those affected.
- "I want to express my sorrow and regret for the pain and suffering of so many millions and to recognise the way it still shapes our world today," Burnam wrote in the Guardian newspaper.
What's still developing
- Writing in The Guardian, Mr Burnham said the UK was offering structured dialogue with countries and communities affected by the slave trade, in which at least 12.5 million Africans were forcibly transported across the Atlantic and sold into slavery.
- Anticipating local calls for a royal apology, Buckingham Palace telegraphed ahead of time that Charles would not formally apologize for slavery on behalf of the British government during the visit.
- LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP)—A Jamaican government delegation visiting Britain is set to file a petition addressed to King Charles III on Monday, raising the question of slavery reparations, Kingston’s culture ministry said.
- “It’s not the marriage that bothers me, it’s the divorce,” Perry said.
- King visits Guyanese slave rebellion site on Caribbean tour British Crown symbol was branded on enslaved Africans, research finds UN judge: UK's £18tn slavery debt is underestimation Burnham 'open' to calls for slavery apology but not reparations US approves sale of 500 Patriot missiles to Ukraine Why North Korea's 'elite' hackers are the prime suspect in major Binance hack He left 28 years ago, now after 36,000 miles Karl Bushby is almost home Responsible or panicked?
- "My worry is the focus on financial reparations, and I think that is deeply problematic and has not quite listened to what people have said," Ribeiro-Addy said.
- The MP for Clapham and Brixton Hill said that, to her knowledge, an invoice for financial reparations has not been given to the UK, and so discussing "reparative justice" on those ends, was missing the point.
- On Wednesday, King Charles acknowledged the "great suffering and injustices of the past" during a visit to the Bahamas but did not issue an apology.
- Get our award-winning daily news email featuring exclusive stories, opinion and expert analysis Andy Burnham has said he is “open” to calls for Britain to formally apologise for its role in the slave trade, but ruled out considering financial reparations.
- “An apology, a commitment to eradicate a mindset that is anchored in Afrophobia and against all things “black”, investment in health and education, development partnership that fights systemic poverty and institutionalised inequality, and fairer terms on debt for vulnerable states, as called for by the Bridgetown Initiative, are a few of the areas where we believe understanding can be reached and settled,” her statement said.
- Ralph Gonsalves, former prime minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines and a senior figure in the Repair campaign, told the Guardian that an apology was the first point in the Caribbean community’s 10-point reparations plan but “though necessary, is insufficient”.
- Dorbrene O’Marde, the chair of the Antigua and Barbuda reparations support commission, said his organisation welcomed the statement as “a movement in the correct direction in the interest of reparatory justice and humanity generally”.