Badenoch calls apology a distraction
Kemi Badenoch has described a formal apology for Britain's part in the transatlantic slave trade as a self-indulgent diversion, arguing that slavery was an evil in which people from every continent and region took part. In comments to broadcasters on Sunday, the Conservative leader also asked whether future leaders should bother attending the Commonwealth summit at all, given that it has come to be dominated by reparations demands.[S1][S5]
In a post on social media, Badenoch called on leaders to acknowledge the entire historical record honestly instead of choosing only those elements that fit today's political needs, noting Britain's central part in ending the trade. She further asked whether Caribbean governments pursuing a British apology would direct the same demand at the descendants of African kingdoms, rulers and merchants who seized, sold and profited from enslaved people.[S1][S2][S3]
She further argued that a fresh apology was unnecessary because Tony Blair had already addressed the matter two decades earlier, and said the Commonwealth ought to face forward rather than keep returning to the past. Speaking to Sky News, she said she feared the summit would become another occasion for requests for money tied to slavery, and that no compensation should be paid.[S1][S4][S6]
Burnham weighs an apology before summit
These comments from the Conservative leader followed Andy Burnham's statement that he was weighing a formal apology ahead of his trip to the Commonwealth heads of government meeting in Antigua and Barbuda the next week. In a Guardian article, Burnham excluded financial compensation as a form of reparations while indicating he would be willing to assist poorer nations in restructuring their debt on more favourable terms.[S1]
Badenoch told Sky News that an apology from Burnham was not needed and that offering one would serve as a lever to pry open demands for cash. Coverage of her intervention also framed it as increasing pressure on the King, following indications that the prime minister is open to a discussion about an apology.[S1][S8]
Chancellor rules out financial liability
John Healey, the chancellor, told the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg that it would be unjust for the British public to bear a financial burden for reparations when they played no part in the slave trade. He said the prime minister considers an apology the right thing to discuss, particularly with Commonwealth leaders about to gather, but does not regard reparations as the correct course.[S1]
Healey added that weighing a formal apology does not amount to accepting that Britons today should carry financial responsibility for events that took place centuries ago and in which they had no involvement. The exchange leaves the government's position balanced between openness to discussing an apology and firm resistance to compensation.[S1][S7]
