Britain’s Prime Minister Andy Burnham announced Friday that he is open to his government issuing a formal apology for the country’s historical involvement in the slave trade, marking a significant shift in British policy. The move could pave the way for King Charles III to offer his own apology next week at a meeting of former British colonies.
As detailed by The New York Times, Burnham made it clear that he does not support paying financial reparations to the descendants of slavery. He wrote in an opinion essay that British people should not be “held liable for historical wrongs, however heinous, that happened in a different age under different laws and in which they played no personal part.”
Burnham also said his predecessors had refused to have an “honest conversation” about the legacy of Britain’s involvement in the slave trade, essentially “sticking our heads in the sand.” He wrote that “listening to calls for a formal apology on behalf of the British state will form an important part of this process,” adding that he is “open to them.”
Burnham is steering the issue toward debt relief instead of payouts
Burnham has asked former Prime Minister Gordon Brown to lead a global effort to restructure the debt of some of the poorest former British colonies. The initiative focuses on current economic challenges faced by those nations rather than direct financial compensation.
In the 1700s and 1800s, British ships trafficked about three million enslaved Africans across the Atlantic. They were forced to work on colonial plantations, and attempted rebellions were brutally crushed.
Many people have pushed for years for the government and the crown to offer financial compensation, arguing that an apology alone does not address the lasting impact of slavery. A formal apology would mark a major policy change, but it is unlikely to satisfy critics who have long made that demand.
Published: Oct 31, 2026 09:00 am