Jamaica is stepping up campaign for £7.6billion in reparations for slavery – by lobbying the King on London visit
Developed over time first seen 2 months ago
Jamaica has intensified its campaign for £7.6billion in slavery reparations by sending a government delegation to London to lobby King Charles directly. The delegation has presented a petition to Buckingham Palace and is holding talks with the Foreign Office, seeking to draw the King into the debate as Jamaica's head of state, even though the UK government has repeatedly said it will not pay reparations.
The petition asks Charles to refer three questions to the Privy Council: whether the enslavement of Africans in Jamaica was legal under English law, whether it violated international law, and whether Britain has a legal duty to provide redress today. It highlights that when Britain abolished slavery in 1833 it compensated slave owners rather than enslaved people, taking out a £20million loan (40% of the Treasury's annual income) that was not repaid until 2015. Jamaican culture minister Olivia Grange argued this justifies pursuing remedy now, while a Buckingham Palace spokesman said the King has "no personal discretion" over Privy Council referrals but remains committed to addressing "historic wrongs." Grange is also separately asking the British Museum to return three 18th-century Taino carvings taken from Jamaica.
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In short
- Jamaica lobbies King Charles for £7.6bn in slavery reparations
- Petition asks Privy Council to rule on legality and UK's duty to redress
- Minister also seeks return of Taino artefacts from British Museum
How this story developed
- 2 months ago Jamaica has intensified its campaign for £7.6billion in slavery reparations by sending a government delegation to London to lobby King Charles directly.
- Daily Mail King Charles WON'T meet Jamaican officials over £7.6billion slavery reparations – after they travelled to Britain with formal petition for Buckingham Palace
- Daily Mail Jamaica is stepping up campaign for £7.6billion in reparations for slavery – by lobbying the King on London visit
- Daily Mail POLL OF THE DAY: Should Britain pay Jamaica £7.6billion in slavery reparations?
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Supporters of reparations argue that Britain compensated slave owners when it abolished slavery, while the enslaved people who suffered its harms received nothing. They see Jamaica’s petition as a way to establish whether past enslavement and present-day redress raise legal questions, and to seek recognition and remedy for lasting injustice.
The case against
Opponents can argue that the UK has no present legal duty to pay for acts carried out generations ago, particularly where responsibility and the form of any remedy are contested. They may also favour addressing historic wrongs through acknowledgement, cultural restitution or cooperation, rather than a large state payment whose basis and beneficiaries would be difficult to determine.
Explained simply
Jamaica has long argued that Britain owes compensation for the transatlantic slave trade, which forcibly transported and enslaved hundreds of thousands of Africans on the island under British colonial rule until abolition in 1833. The campaign has gathered pace across the Caribbean in recent years, with governments and regional bodies pressing former colonial powers, including Britain, France and the Netherlands, to acknowledge historical wrongs and provide some form of redress.
The key figures in this story are the Jamaican government, represented by ministers pushing the reparations case, and King Charles, who as Jamaica's head of state occupies a largely ceremonial but symbolically important position. The British government has consistently resisted calls for reparations, while the monarchy has generally avoided direct involvement in political questions, making any attempt to bring the King into the debate notable.
This matters because it touches on unresolved questions about how Britain should reckon with its colonial and slave-owning past, including historical decisions such as compensating slave owners rather than enslaved people after abolition. The scale of the sum being discussed, and the involvement of the monarchy alongside the government, means the issue carries both financial and constitutional significance for how Britain addresses its history.
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From 3 rated sources.
- Daily MailRightJamaica is stepping up campaign for £7.6billion in reparations for slavery – by lobbying the King on London visit
- Daily MailRightKing Charles WON'T meet Jamaican officials over £7.6billion slavery reparations – after they travelled to Britain with formal petition for Buckingham Palace
- Daily MailRightPOLL OF THE DAY: Should Britain pay Jamaica £7.6billion in slavery reparations?
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