Miliband says slavery apology will not bring cost for UK taxpayers

Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband has assured the public that the government’s readiness to formally apologise for the UK’s historical involvement in the transatlantic slave trade will not result in increased costs for British taxpayers. Although the Prime Minister has made clear that the UK will not offer reparations to affected nations, he has not explicitly stated whether this new stance might involve additional public funds.

During an appearance on the BBC’s Newscast podcast, Miliband criticised earlier British governments for their tendency to avoid fully addressing the harms caused by slavery. He referenced former Prime Minister Sir Tony Blair’s approach nearly twenty years ago, describing it as a “sorry not sorry” position. In 2007, Blair acknowledged the UK’s involvement in the slave trade as a source of “deep sorrow and regret,” but Miliband noted that this expression of remorse was quickly undermined by Downing Street. This attitude, Miliband said, still influences discussions today, as evidenced by a recent conversation between Andy Burnham and Barbados’s Prime Minister, Mia Mottley.

Miliband also recalled taking over the foreign secretary role amid tensions stemming from the last Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) held in Samoa two years prior. He recounted how the meeting ended in a “verbal punch up” over the issue of slavery’s legacy, illustrating how this matter has lingered within the Commonwealth for approximately two decades. Acknowledging this, Miliband stated that ignoring the issue was no longer an option; the government felt it was necessary to face the problem directly rather than pretend it did not exist.

Currently, Andy Burnham has announced that the government is open to issuing a formal apology for slavery. Officials are initiating what they refer to as a “structured dialogue” with affected countries, with hopes that a formal apology may be delivered around the time the Prime Minister hosts the 2027 G20 Summit in Manchester. Miliband addressed concerns about the move’s strength, arguing that true pride in one’s country involves acknowledging its difficult past. He described his own request for a historical summary of Britain’s involvement in the slave trade, highlighting the tragic toll: over three million people were forcibly transported under British state complicity over a period of centuries, with hundreds of thousands dying en route and survivors subjected to terrible conditions both on the ships and upon arrival in the Caribbean and Americas. Miliband and the Prime Minister intend for the forthcoming apology to help the Commonwealth move forward and focus on other shared priorities