Andy Burnham calls slave trade "brutal and barbaric violation" amid apology debate

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said he would consider an official state apology for the UK’s role in the transatlantic slave trade but ruled out cash compensation. In a Guardian article, Burnham expressed sorrow for the suffering and said he wanted formal talks with affected Commonwealth countries. He argued that modern Britons should not be personally responsible for wrongs from an earlier era under different laws; instead he proposed debt relief and restructuring for poorer and developing Commonwealth states. Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama welcomed the openness with cautious optimism and urged talks involving African governments, CARICOM, the diaspora and slave-trade countries on reparations. This followed a Ghana-led UN resolution on the slave trade, on which the UK abstained.