A response to Andy Burnham: We need an apology and reparations

What the report says

In an Al Jazeera opinion piece published on 3 November 2026, Verene A Shepherd, vice-chair of the CARICOM Reparations Commission, responded to reporting that UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham is open to a formal British apology for the transatlantic trafficking of enslaved Africans and chattel slavery. She described that as a limited but notable shift, while arguing that an apology alone would not be enough without reparations.

Shepherd said CARICOM has long sought structured talks on apology and reparatory justice, and she pointed to earlier British responses that expressed regret but stopped short of admitting responsibility. The article also referenced former Prime Minister David Cameron’s 2015 rejection of slavery reparations and a controversial UK-funded prison project proposal for Jamaica.

The author argued that any apology should acknowledge Britain’s role in slavery and colonialism, accept responsibility, and be followed by practical repair measures. In her view, these should include debt cancellation and monetary compensation rather than improved debt repayment terms for poorer countries. She framed reparations as part of a wider reckoning with the economic and social legacies of slavery, colonial rule, and racial inequality across the Caribbean.

The piece was published as King Charles III was due to address the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Antigua amid protests and renewed calls for apology and reparations. More broadly, it reflects continuing pressure from Caribbean leaders and civil society for European states, especially Britain, to confront slavery’s historical harms in a formal and material way.