Why is Britain refusing to pay slavery reparations?

Aljazeera
55 followers
Nov 6, 2026
Why is Britain refusing to pay reparations?
Here's a wild fact. Up until 2015 British taxpayers
were still paying off government debt linked
to compensation for the slave owner's loss of human
property. A sum of 20 million pounds was paid out.
That's roughly 17 billion pounds in today's money.
Those who were enslaved got nothing.
At its height, Britain was the world's biggest slave trading
nation and forcibly transported 3.4 million Africans across
the Atlantic. It wasn't until
1834 that slavery was abolished through
the Slavery Abolition Act in 1833.
Nearly 200 years after the transatlantic slave trade,
Britain is facing a big question.
Is saying sorry enough?
That shameful chapter of history is one that fills my heart with horror
and my soul with the most profound personal sorrow.
Here's another fact for you.
Britain has never formally apologized.
I've been very clear.
that we do not support reparations.
Andy Burnham has ruled out financial reparations
because he argues that today's British taxpayers
shouldn't be held financially responsible
for injustices committed centuries ago.
And he's not the only one.
Some British politicians argue Britain has already paid its price,
spending a lot of money and losing thousands of lives
fighting to abolish slavery.
It was our Royal Navy that helped to end the slave trade.
They say that slavery wasn't unique to Britain
and that the focus should be on modern-day abuses
rather than reparations for the past.
So what are Caribbean countries actually asking for?
If Britain wants to find the money,
as it finds money for war in Ukraine,
as it will find money for war in the Falklands,
save Britain.
Gets to a negotiated agreement, it can find the money.
Could be payments over the next 10 years,
could be payments over the next 20 years.
These are things that can be negotiated
within Andy Burnham's offer of a structured dialogue.
Almost two centuries after abolition,
Britain is finally talking about a possible apology.
But does Britain helping to end slavery
make up for the fact that it also profited from it?
