A former Conservative MP has threatened to sue the University of Cambridge after a historian named her as a descendant of a merchant with links to the slave trade.
Antoinette Sandbach, the former MP for Eddisbury in Cheshire, was named as a descendant of Samuel Sandbach in a Ted Talk in 2021 by author and poet Malik Al Nasir, who is also a third-year PhD history student at St Catharine’s College.
Mr Al Nasir says Mr Sandbach, a former deputy chairman of the Bank of Liverpool and mayor of the city, became wealthy from the slave trade and brought a substantial amount of the wealth from plantation slavery to Liverpool.
The PhD student, who grew up in the city, has spent 20 years looking into his own family’s ancestral origins, discovering links to plantations in Demerara, in what was formerly known as British Guiana, during the 18th and 19th centuries.
It is understood Ms Sandbach has asked to be removed from the research and has threatened to sue the university, which embedded the Ted Talk on its website. She believes the mention of her name violated her right to privacy and that she was singled out despite there being other living relatives.
In emails to the university earlier this year, seen by the BBC, Ms Sandbach described slavery as appalling and made clear she is not sympathetic to her ancestor, but she said she has a right to be forgotten as she was no longer a public figure.
Ms Sandbach told the BBC she no longer lives on land connected to the Sandbach Family estate in North Wales, which Mr Al Nasir said in his research was 5,000 acres and incorporated stately Hafodunos Hall - sold in the 1930s - and the surrounding farms.
She said the land owned by the family today has been developed since the 1960s.
After an investigation by the university’s information compliance office (ICO), Ms Sandbach’s request to have her name removed was rejected on the grounds of academic freedom, according to The Guardian.
Malik Al Nasir has spent 20 years looking into his own family’s ancestral origins— (Timmysummers via Wikimedia Commons)
“The threat of legal action is an affront to academic freedom,” Mr Al Nasir told the BBC. “This is a fundamental right that is being put under threat by the notion that anyone, who doesn’t like what you find, can demand censorship on the grounds of their own perceived rights of privacy.”
St Catharine’s College said: “St Catharine’s is absolutely committed to upholding freedom of speech and ensuring all of our students, including Malik Al Nasir, are able to freely pursue their scholarly interests by providing access to academic, pastoral and – where possible – financial support throughout their studies.”
The University of Cambridge said: “This is an ongoing legal matter and so we are unable to comment.”
Ms Sandbach has been approached for comment.
