Badenoch Rejects Fresh British Apology Over Slave Trade, Cites African Role

Kemi Badenoch, leader of Britain’s Conservative Party, has opposed renewed demands for a formal apology for the country’s involvement in the transatlantic slave trade, arguing that African kingdoms and merchants also played a role in the practice.

Badenoch maintained that the history of slavery should be addressed in its entirety, rather than focusing on aspects that suit convenient political arguments.

Her comments followed remarks by British Prime Minister Andy Burnham, who expressed willingness to consider calls for a formal apology on behalf of Britain.

In an opinion article published in The Guardian on Friday, Burnham described the slave trade as a “brutal and barbaric violation” against enslaved people.

Reacting in a statement posted on X on Saturday, Badenoch questioned whether Caribbean nations seeking an apology from Britain would extend similar demands to the descendants of African rulers and merchants who participated in capturing, selling and profiting from enslaved people.

“Slavery was an evil in which people from every continent and region participated,” she said.

“We should be honest about the whole history, not select the parts that are politically convenient today, especially given Britain’s leading role in ending the transatlantic slave trade.

“If Caribbean countries are asking Britain for a formal apology for Britain’s role in the transatlantic slave trade, will they also be asking the same of the descendants of African kingdoms, rulers and merchants who captured, sold and profited from the trade?

“On demands for reparations, whether through cash or debt relief, we have been down this track before.”

The Conservative leader also cited previous international debt-relief campaigns, including Jubilee 2000, Drop the Debt and Make Poverty History, which advocated debt cancellation for developing countries about 25 years ago.

According to Badenoch, the campaigns resulted in more than $100 billion in debt being cancelled, but several of the countries involved have since accumulated even greater debts.

She further argued that Britain’s Labour government was already committing excessive resources to the country’s welfare system and should not assume additional financial obligations towards other nations over historical events.

“There is no reason British taxpayers today should be held financially responsible for things that happened generations before any of us were born,” she said.

“And I have even less patience for political elites in Commonwealth countries who don’t know how to make their own citizens prosperous now looking for another opportunity to blame Britain.

“As Prime Minister, Andy Burnham should be Britain’s greatest defender. Instead, he is writing articles saying we need to confront our history (as if we haven’t done enough of that) and considering another formal historical apology.

“Tony Blair already expressed Britain’s deep sorrow and regret for our role in the slave trade nearly twenty years ago. There is no need to do so again.”

Badenoch characterised the renewed calls for an apology as “another navel-gazing distraction”, insisting that Commonwealth nations should concentrate on practical areas of cooperation.

She urged countries within the Commonwealth to prioritise economic partnerships and security collaboration instead of revisiting demands for historical apologies and reparations.