Burnham Open to Apology for Slavery but Rules Out Reparations
British Prime Minister Andrew Burnham said he is ready to consider calls for an official apology for Britain's role in the slave trade, but ruled out financial reparations.
British Prime Minister Andrew Burnham said he is open to calls for the country to officially apologise for its role in the slave trade, but ruled out paying financial reparations. According to him, the British people cannot bear financial responsibility for the crimes of slavery, but the country is obliged to honestly acknowledge its complex history. He set out this position in a column published in The Guardian as part of the celebration of Black History Month.
Burnham expressed personal "sadness and regret" over the suffering caused by the transatlantic slave trade. He stressed that Britain was both the birthplace of the movement to abolish slavery and a participant in the trade in human lives. In his view, this duality should become the basis of national memory, rather than a reason for simplistic judgements about the past.
As an example, the prime minister cited the speech of abolitionist Thomas Clarkson, who spoke at Manchester Cathedral on 28 October 1787. Clarkson spoke about the cruelty of the slave trade and the humanity of enslaved people. He said that the enslaved person "drinks the cup of sorrow" and added that he does so "from our hands". According to Burnham, after this sermon thousands of Manchester residents signed a petition against slavery.
At the same time, the prime minister recalled that Manchester's cotton industry was built on the labour of enslaved people. Similar stories, he said, exist across the country: Britain was a country where brave people openly opposed slavery, and at the same time a country that took part in the trade in people. Burnham believes such recognition should not come down to seeking culprits among citizens living today.
Financial reparations, in the prime minister's view, are not the right answer. Instead, he sees the path to common prosperity in joint work with Commonwealth countries. Such an approach, he said, allows history to be viewed not as a source of division, but as a foundation for partnership that will benefit all participants.
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