UK Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch has rejected calls for Britain to pay reparations for the transatlantic slave trade, arguing that demands for historical accountability should also address African rulers and merchants who captured and sold enslaved people.
Badenoch made the argument amid renewed pressure on Britain to acknowledge its role in slavery, insisting that current British taxpayers should not be held financially responsible for actions committed generations ago.
“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?” she asked.
She maintained that slavery involved participants across different regions and said discussions about its legacy should account for the full history rather than focus selectively on Britain.
Badenoch also opposed debt cancellation and direct financial compensation as forms of reparations. She cited previous international debt-relief initiatives, including Jubilee 2000, Drop the Debt and Make Poverty History, arguing that some beneficiary countries had accumulated further debts after more than $100 billion was written off.
The Conservative leader criticised the British government’s approach to the issue, arguing that public spending pressures at home made additional financial commitments abroad inappropriate.
She also opposed another formal British apology, pointing to former Prime Minister Tony Blair’s expression of sorrow and regret over the country’s involvement in the slave trade nearly two decades ago.
Badenoch accused political leaders in Commonwealth countries of using colonial history to divert attention from current economic challenges. She urged member states to prioritise trade, economic development and security cooperation instead of making financial demands of Britain.
“If every Commonwealth summit becomes an exercise in presenting Britain with demands for cash, then we need to start asking if it is worth the effort,” she said.
Her comments come as debate over Britain’s historical responsibility for slavery continues ahead of a Commonwealth leaders’ meeting. Reparations campaigners argue that slavery’s consequences persist through economic and social inequalities and that historical accountability should address those lasting effects.
