UK PM rejects slavery reparations despite Caribbean demands, open to formal apology

UK PM Burnham indicates Britain may apologise for role in slave trade (File photo/ AP) British prime minister Andy Burnham has indicated that he is willing to consider calls for a formal apology for Britain's involvement in the transatlantic slave trade, but has ruled out paying financial reparations for historical injustices.In an article published in The Guardian, Burnham said his government was prepared to engage with countries and communities affected by slavery through a "structured dialogue". He made the remarks ahead of next week's Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Antigua and Barbuda, where Caribbean leaders are expected to push for reparations."Listening to calls for a formal apology on behalf of the British state will form an important part of this process, and I am open to them," Burnham wrote.However, he rejected the argument that people living in Britain today should be financially responsible for crimes committed centuries ago."I do not think that British people today can be held liable for historical wrongs, however heinous, that happened in a different age under different laws and in which they played no personal part," he said.The transatlantic sl...