Left-wing MPs press Burnham over slavery reparations after apology signal
Labour backbench MPs on the left are pressing Andy Burnham to pursue reparations for slavery after he opened the door to an official apology at the Commonwealth summit in Antigua and Barbuda.
Left-wing Labour MPs are piling pressure on Andy Burnham to go further on slavery reparations, after the Prime Minister opened the door to an official British apology for the slave trade at the Commonwealth heads of government meeting.
Burnham is due to fly to Antigua and Barbuda on Monday for the summit. His willingness to consider a formal apology has been welcomed by some backbenchers, who argue that words alone are not enough and that the government should commit to financial redress for descendants of enslaved people.
The pressure comes as the question of how Britain confronts its colonial past moves up the political agenda ahead of the gathering. Commonwealth leaders have long pressed the issue, and the prospect of a British apology has drawn attention across the grouping.
Dawn Butler, the Labour MP who has been among the most vocal campaigners on the issue, is among those pushing the Prime Minister to set out a clear position. Supporters of reparations say an apology should be followed by concrete measures, while critics within and outside the party question the cost and the legal and political implications of such a step.
No formal government policy on reparations has been confirmed, and the scope of any apology remains unclear. What is set to be tested at the summit is whether the Prime Minister's openness to an apology translates into a commitment that satisfies the MPs now calling for more.
Source: dailymail.com
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