𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

The push for reparations for Britain’s role in the slave trade has been compared to a “cynical and mercenary shakedown” by the UK’s former ambassador to Saudi Arabia. Sir John Jenkins, who was also the Foreign Office’s director for the Middle East and North Africa, warns that Andy Burnham’s openness to giving an apology “will only encourage those who believe that Britain is now more likely to pay up”.

In a new report for the Policy Exchange think tank he condemns Britain’s “culture of capitulation” and warns that its readiness to back down has emboldened adversaries. Mr Burnham has said he is “open” to an apology for the slave trade but resisted calls for reparations. A major study suggested in 2023 that the UK should pay £18.8trillion for its involvement in slavery in 14 countries. The former top diplomat blasts calls for reparations in his report, stating: “Even the most casual observer might be forgiven for thinking all this simply represents a cynical and mercenary shakedown of a guilt-ridden West by professional grievance entrepreneurs.”

Sir John, who was also an ambassador to Iraq, said claims made in support of reparations “range from the ignorant to the bizarre”. He writes: “Equally bizarre to many observers is the claim that people alive today who have no personal connection to the slave trade should pay money to people who claim injury in the present as a result of descent from those enslaved several centuries ago.”

The former diplomat accuses the Prime Minister of “misplaced optimism” for thinking “an apology and a ‘structured dialogue’ will deter calls for slavery reparations”. Sir John warns that Britain risks doing modern equivalent of “paying the Danegeld” – the protection money paid to Vikings. He cites further examples of Britain caving-in to demands which go against its national interest, including the deal to hand control of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius and the agreement to release terrorists as part of the Northern Ireland peace process.

Professor John Bew, who advised four prime ministers on foreign policy, warns in the foreword to the report that Britain diplomacy is too often seen as the “soothing of tensions rather than than the art of getting your own way”.

Former Home Secretary and Reform UK Suella Braverman responded to the report, saying: “Britain played a leading role in abolishing slavery and spent huge sums of money stamping it out across the world… We will not apologise or make taxpayers pay for the actions of those before us centuries ago. Giving into these demands shows weakness, not leadership.”