Jack Anon

Slavery was an evil in which people from every continent and region participated. We should be honest about the whole history, not select the parts that are politically convenient today, especially given Britain's leading role in ending the transatlantic slave trade. If Caribbean countries are asking Britain for a formal apology for Britain’s role in the transatlantic slave trade, will they also be asking the same of the descendants of African kingdoms, rulers and merchants who captured, sold and profited from the trade? On demands for reparations, whether through cash or debt relief, we have been down this track before. Twenty-five years ago, Jubilee 2000, Drop the Debt and Make Poverty History argued that cancelling the debts of poorer countries would give them a fresh start. More than $100 billion of debt was eventually written off, but many of those countries have since built up even bigger debts. Labour are already spending too much on Britain's welfare state, now is not the time for Andy Burnham to be providing global welfare. There is no reason British taxpayers today should be held financially responsible for things that happened generations before any of us were born. And I have even less patience for political elites in commonwealth countries who don’t know how to make their own citizens prosperous now looking for another opportunity to blame Britain. As Prime Minister, Andy Burnham should be Britain’s greatest defender. Instead, he is writing articles saying we need to confront our history (as if we haven't done enough of that) and considering another formal historical apology. Tony Blair already expressed Britain’s deep sorrow and regret for our role in the slave trade nearly twenty years ago. There is no need to do so again. This is all another navel-gazing distraction. The Commonwealth should be looking forward, not endlessly backwards. That means economic partnerships to make us all richer and deeper military and security cooperation against common threats. If every Commonwealth summit becomes an exercise in presenting Britain with demands for cash then we need to start asking if it is worth the effort.

Over the summer, Henry Nowak's final moments were broadcast around the world. He was just eighteen, and when the police reached him on a street in Southampton he would have believed that help had come. He told them he had been stabbed and could not breathe, and they handcuffed and arrested him. I met Henry's family in June, and that meeting has stayed with me ever since. There is still much more to be said about how the police failed Henry, and about how they went on failing his family and loved ones right up until the conviction. The day after we met, I wrote to the then Prime Minister, Keir Starmer asking for an independent, rapid review of the police response, the decisions that followed, and the role of the police watchdog. I didn't publish that letter at the time, because I hoped the Government would do the right thing and I wanted to work with them quietly to make that happen. Downing Street's answer was to wait for the existing processes to run their course. Since then, Keir Starmer has gone and Andy Burnham has taken his place, yet still there is no review. There was little mention of victims in the PM’s speech earlier this week. Henry's family have waited long enough, so today I'm publishing my letter. Andy Burnham should order the review now, and I stand ready to work with him to set it up, as I offered in June. I haven't forgotten Henry, and I won't let this Government forget him either.