Holness welcomes UK PM's willingness to discuss slavery apology
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Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness says Jamaica welcomes news that United Kingdom Prime Minister Andy Burnham has indicated that he is open to calls for Britain to formally apologise for chattel slavery and engage in dialogue.
Burnham, speaking in an article in the UK newspaper The Guardian, expressed his personal sorrow and regret about slavery and Britain's role in it.
However, he reiterated that the UK would not engage in financial reparations.
Burnham is due to attend a Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting next week.
Holness, in a statement on Friday, said Jamaica was encouraged to learn that Burnham and his Government were open to listening to calls for a formal apology for slavery.
“We have always been open to having full and meaningful dialogue on this important issue,” he said.
“We welcome this development, coming in the wake of our legal petition which is now before the Privy Council. We look forward to the discussions and actions that will follow,” Holness added.
A hearing on Jamaica’s petition seeking a determination on the legality of the enslavement of Africans and Britain’s potential obligation to provide reparations has been provisionally scheduled for the week of March 8, 2027.
Jamaica filed the petition on September 7, 2026, asking King Charles III to refer key questions concerning the enslavement of Africans in Jamaica to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council for determination.
The petition seeks a determination on whether the capture, transportation and enslavement of Africans in Jamaica were lawful under English law, whether these acts breached international law, and whether the United Kingdom owes the Jamaican people a reparatory remedy.
The process is intended to establish answers to the legal questions rather than seek a specific monetary award at this stage.
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