UK: change of course on the slave trade?
At the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in the Caribbean island nation of Antigua and Barbuda, British Prime Minister Andy Burnham on Tuesday hinted at a change of direction and signalled a willingness to issue an official apology for colonial slavery. King Charles expressed his deep regret over the historical injustice, but avoided making an outright apology. Commentators discuss the implications.
Now it’s up to the PM
The Guardian calls on the UK to take concrete action in acknowledgement of its historical responsibility:
“While enslavers, investors and traffickers enriched themselves, and provided seed funding for the Industrial Revolution, the Caribbean was left impoverished by the cruel system that the colonists built. Now, demands for this legacy to be properly recognised are coinciding with the climate crisis, to which Caribbean islands are highly exposed through their vulnerability to hurricanes. King Charles recognised as much when he spoke of the 'monstrous injustice' of slavery and the 'catastrophic reality' of global heating's effects. But it falls to Mr Burnham to follow through on the statements of recent days.”
Bigger fish to fry
The prime minister is using the debate as a diversionary tactic, the Daily Telegraph argues:
“Burnham is happy to discuss anything it seems other than the spiralling welfare bill, the problems of illegal and legal migration and the failure of his Government to fund defence when the UK faces the greatest threats to our wellbeing at any time since the 1930s. ... We shouldn't even think about forcing British people today to pick up the bill for what took place hundreds of years ago. Instead, we should remember how much Britain has given to the world and most of all we should recall proudly what we actually did to end the abominable trade in human beings.”