The UK government has firmly rejected this Monday Jamaica’s demand for financial reparations for its role in the transatlantic slave trade, as a Jamaican delegation formally requested £10 billion in compensation from King Charles III.
The British government reiterated on Septembre 7 that it will not pay financial reparations for the country’s role in the transatlantic slave trade, a stance restated just as a Jamaican delegation delivered a formal petition to Buckingham Palace addressed to King Charles III demanding $10 billion in compensation.
The UK’s position, reiterated by Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s spokesperson, remains unchanged: “The UK does not pay and will not pay reparations.” Despite acknowledging the abhorrent nature of colonial practices and the significant benefits Britain gained from the slave trade, successive UK governments have avoided issuing a formal apology or engaging in economic negotiations on the matter.
RELATED: Slavery Declared Crime Against Humanity With U.S.,Israel, Argentina Rejection
The Jamaican delegation, led by Minister of Culture Olivia Grange, traveled to the UK to present the petition in person. Rather than asking for a direct royal decision, the document asks the king to seek guidance from the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in London, the body that serves as the final court of appeal for Jamaica and several other Commonwealth territories, a procedural route that Jamaican officials say could carry more legal weight than a purely political appeal.
Because no Commonwealth member has previously pursued this specific legal avenue, the petition marks a notable precedent, and it poses three central questions for evaluation: whether the enslavement of African people in Jamaica was lawful under English law at the time, whether the practice violated international law regardless of its domestic legality, and whether the United Kingdom bears a legal obligation to compensate for the damages caused by the slave trade.
Jamaica is submitting a slavery petition to King Charles, seeking legal answers on Britain’s historic responsibility.
The petition asks for three questions to be put to Jamaica’s highest court and also seeks the return of colonial-era artefacts.
It comes as other Caribbean… pic.twitter.com/cAiOQIhLi6
— Channel 4 News (@Channel4News) September 7, 2026
Minister Grange additionally called for the return of Caribbean artifacts still held in British museums, tying the reparations demand to a broader push for restitution beyond financial compensation alone. Despite the government’s rejection and the king’s absence during the petition’s delivery, Grange told international media she felt “encouraged” by the step that had been taken, suggesting Jamaican officials view the legal filing itself as a form of progress independent of the government’s immediate response.
King Absent Amid Criticism
King Charles III was in Scotland at the time the petition was delivered in London, an absence that drew criticism from several quarters. Graham Smith, chief executive of the anti-monarchy group Republic, argued that the king “once again… seeks refuge whenever the issue of slavery and empire is raised,” a comment that reflects a broader and recurring criticism of how the monarchy has handled its historical ties to slavery.
Jamaica’s demands align with recent findings from international bodies on the issue. A United Nations committee determined that states carry a legal obligation to consider reparations for the transatlantic slave trade, warning that eliminating racial discrimination will remain out of reach without what it described as a full commitment to reviewing and repairing the ongoing damages and consequences of enslaved African trafficking and racialized slavery.
That UN position, combined with Jamaica’s novel legal strategy, suggests the reparations debate is unlikely to fade even as London maintains its refusal to negotiate.
The Daily Mail is reporting that King Charles III will not personally receive a petition from Jamaica as the Holness administration steps up a campaign for Britain to pay £7.6 billion in slavery reparations.
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— Nationwide90FM (@NationwideRadio) September 7, 2026
Jamaica and UK’s Relations
Jamaica’s relations with the UK stem back to 1655 when it became an English colony. Hundreds of thousands of enslaved African people toiled in Jamaica under more than 300 years of British rule and faced brutal conditions.
In August 1962, after Jamaica became independent, it established diplomatic ties with the UK and also became a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, an international political association of 56 member countries made up of former British colonies. While Jamaica has been independent since 1962, it has continued to recognise the British monarch as its head of State; but in recent years, calls to ditch the British King as Jamaica’s head of State have grown.
In December 2024, the Jamaican government tabled a constitutional amendment bill in parliament to replace the British King as the head of State.
Slavery Reparations Debate
The UK’s involvement in the slave trade began in 1562, and by the 1730s, the UK was the biggest slave trading nation in the world, when the British ships transported more than three million Africans, mainly to the UK’s North American and Caribbean colonies.
Several Commonwealth nations have been demanding that the UK pay reparations for its role in the transatlantic slave trade in recent years.
Reparations have been paid over slavery in the past – to the owners of slaves. In 1833, the British government agreed to compensation for slave owners for the “loss of their property” after passing legislation to abolish slavery in the British Empire. In March 2024, British institutions such as the Church of England also pledged to put together a 1-billion-pound (1.35 billion dollars) fund to address its role in slavery.
But UK leaders have so far resisted engaging in discussions about paying reparations to the countries that received trafficked slaves, and where their descendants now live. In October 2024, former UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s office said that the British government would not be paying for slavery and would also not apologise for it. The British monarch has also not issued a formal apology for the crown’s role in the transatlantic slave trade.
Netherlands is the only European country to have apologised for its role in the transatlantic slave trade. In March, even when the UN General Assembly voted to recognise the transatlantic slave trade as the “gravest crime against humanity”, many European nations, including the UK, abstained from voting in favour of the resolution.
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