Stephen Lawrence, the mother of the murdered black teenager, said Britain should apologize and “consider” paying compensation for its historical role in the slave trade.

Speaking in Parliament, Doreen Lawrence argued that this was a current issue given that taxes were used until 2015 to help compensate slave owners.

The Jamaican-born Labor Party member made his comments after the UK failed to exclude language on reparations in a joint statement signed by countries attending a major Commonwealth summit.

The government has repeatedly rejected offers of compensation or apology for the UK’s historic involvement in the trade.

But the latest declaration, signed at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (Chogm) in Samoa, acknowledged calls for discussion on “restorative justice” and said they “agreed that the time has come for a meaningful, truthful and respectful conversation about building a shared future based on a shared future” . on equity”.

Responding to the statement about the recent summit, Baroness Lawrence of Clarendon said: “This Government and the previous government seem to have lost sight of the fact that countries’ resources are being sapped and people are suffering so much.

“Now is the time to apologize and think about compensation because countries have suffered.”

Foreign Secretary Lord Collins of Highbury said: “I recognize the strength of his feelings on this matter.

“He is absolutely right to describe the horrific nature of the slave trade, which is a stain on our history and about which we need to have honest and open dialogue.

“I believe that the current government’s position is clear. We will focus on the future and build an inclusive and fair economic partnership for the future.

“We will focus on addressing the real and genuine challenges the world currently faces, especially climate change and security.”

Lord Callayan, a leading Conservative figure, previously said: “The Government appears to have fallen behind in maneuvering the reparations issue.

“Of course, we should never forget history, but we must move towards a brighter future and focus on the urgent problems of today.”

Lord Collins said: “We are fully aware of the terrible effects of the transatlantic slave trade and the understandable ongoing strength of feeling on the issue among communities in the United Kingdom and our Commonwealth family.

“Commonwealth leaders agreed that it was time to have a meaningful, truthful and respectful conversation on the issue in Samoa.

“We are committed to continuing this dialogue with our partners in the Caribbean and beyond, solving today’s challenges, especially to strengthen our partnerships for the future.”

The British government paid £20 million in compensation to slave owners when slavery was abolished in much of the empire in 1833; This amounted to 40% of the Treasury’s annual income at the time.

He had to take out a large loan to finally pay off the debts in 2015.

The public only became aware of this in 2018, after the Treasury shared a post on social media titled “Millions of you helped end the slave trade through your taxes.”

This sparked an outcry, with many people upset that their money was ultimately used to compensate 46,000 slave owners.