UK Open to Slavery Reparations Talks with Caribbean Nations: Report

The leftist Labour Party government is reportedly considering talks with Caribbean nations on the issue of reparations for the British Empire’s role in the slave trade.

According to a report from The Telegraph, the Foreign Office is planning on holding a meeting with the Reparations Commission of the Caribbean Community (Caricom), a fifteen-nation bloc that advocates for slavery reparations from the West.

The potential trip is reportedly being organised by Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley, who has previously called on former colonial powers to pay her country £3.9 trillion in reparations for slavery.

Before coming into government, Foreign Secretary David Lammy repeatedly urged the UK to consider the demands from Caribbean nations on the issue of slavery.

However, after coming into power, Lammy has since played down the issue, telling the BBC in November: “It’s not about the transfer of cash, particularly at a time of a cost of living crisis around the globe, and certainly in the UK.

“That is not the debate people are wanting to have. They’re wanting to think about the future. Our new approach will deliver respectful partnerships that listen rather than tell, deliver long-term growth rather than short-term solutions and build a freer, safer, more prosperous continent.”

At a meeting of the British Commonwealth nations in Samoa in October, the heads of 56 governments, including UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, signed a declaration calling for “discussions on reparatory justice” over the “abhorrent” transatlantic slave trade. The document called for a “meaningful, truthful and respectful conversation” on the issue.

Prime Minister Starmer said that the UK would not pay reparations, saying that people should “look forward” rather than engaging in “very long endless discussions about reparations on the past”.

However, Downing Street reportedly expressed openness to some form of “reparatory justice”, such as providing debt relief to affected nations.

Commenting on the reports of a meeting to discuss reparations, Reform UK deputy leader Richard Tice said: “Lammy doing [a] huge favour to ⁦Reform UK. He wants to give away more British money to foreign nations. Reform would pay not a penny. Reform will win [the] next election [based] on this madness.”

A Foreign Office spokesman denied that there were plans for a ministerial-level Caricom meeting and said that “the Government’s position on this issue has not changed – we do not pay reparations.”

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