UK PM Burnham open to apology for slavery but rules out reparations ahead of Commonwealth summit

Ahead of a Commonwealth summit, UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham says he is open to a formal apology for Britain’s role in slavery. But he is ruling out financial reparations, telling UK media that he does not believe Britons today should be held liable for historical wrongs.

Instead, he proposes talks with affected countries, including easing poorer Commonwealth nations’ debt burden by giving them longer to pay at better rates.

King Charles acknowledged earlier this week the immense suffering the slave trade caused. He said it is only right to acknowledge the great suffering and injustices of the past in these islands and beyond.

Britain profited enormously but was also a leading force in the abolition movement. One figure was Olaudah Equiano, once enslaved, who became a prominent abolitionist and is commemorated with a blue plaque at the place where he lived.

Al Jazeera’s Sonia Gallego reports from London.

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