Burnham Signals Willingness to Consider Formal Apology for Slave Trade While Rejecting Reparations

Prime Minister Andy Burnham has indicated he is open to a formal UK apology for its involvement in the transatlantic slave trade, while firmly rejecting any financial reparations.

He called for a dialogue with those affected by the slave trade and said he was receptive to demands for an official apology.

He dismissed the idea of financial reparations, stating that such payments were not the appropriate solution.

His remarks precede a Commonwealth leaders summit in the Caribbean next week, which he will attend. Caribbean nations have renewed calls for the UK to apologise for its role in the slave trade and to provide reparations, as King Charles III tours the region.

He described the transatlantic slave trade—when Africans were trafficked to the Americas—as a “brutal and barbaric violation” and urged that Britain must confront its past.

The British government has never formally apologised for slavery or offered reparations. Burnham has maintained his predecessors’ stance, offering no consideration of reparation payments.

In a Guardian commentary, he wrote: “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.”

He noted that Commonwealth countries have long sought an “honest conversation” and proposed a “structured dialogue,” explaining that “listening to calls for a formal apology on behalf of the British state will form an important part of this process. I am open to them.”

A government source told the BBC the move was “morally the right thing to do.” Downing Street believes reinforcing the Commonwealth is in the UK’s strategic interest as China and Russia seek to expand their influence. This week, President Vladimir Putin hosted a Russia‑Africa summit in Moscow.

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