Politics

Miliband says slavery apology would not raise taxpayer costs

Eleanor WhitcombePublished 25m ago2 min readBased on 7 sources
Miliband says slavery apology would not raise taxpayer costs
Photo by Alecsandra Dragoi / No 10 Downing Street / OGL 3

Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband has said that the government's consideration of a formal apology for the UK's role in the transatlantic slave trade will not lead to higher costs for British taxpayers.

He made the remarks on the BBC's Newscast podcast. Miliband was appointed Foreign Secretary, the usual title for the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, on 20 July 2026.

The prime minister has said the UK will not pay reparations, meaning financial compensation, to countries affected by slavery. According to the Associated Press, no country has paid financial reparations to nations affected by slavery, although the Netherlands apologised for its role in the slave trade in 2022.

Andy Burnham says the government is open to formally apologising for slavery. Miliband has backed Burnham over a formal apology. He said an apology could help Britain strengthen ties with the Commonwealth, the association of countries that includes many former British territories. Miliband said this in the same period the King described the slave trade as a "shameful chapter" in a Commonwealth address.

Miliband said previous British governments had a "sweep it under the carpet" attitude to the pain and consequences of slavery. He described former Prime Minister Tony Blair's approach to an apology as a "sorry not sorry" situation. In 2007, Blair said the UK's involvement in the slave trade was a matter of "deep sorrow and regret". Miliband said Blair's approach came up in a recent conversation between Burnham and Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley.

Miliband said over three million people were shipped with the British state's complicity over a couple of centuries, and hundreds of thousands died on the journey. He said he had asked to be provided with a historical digest of the UK's involvement in the slave trade.

Ministers are beginning a "structured dialogue" with affected countries on the issue. The apology is expected at around the time the prime minister hosts the G20 summit of major economies in Manchester in November 2027.

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