Like it or not, we have all benefited from the slave trade

A sculpture of former slave and later abolitionist writer Olaudah Equiano at the International Slavery Museum in Liverpool. Photograph: Russell Contreras/AP

Thank you for the excellent research into the rightwing backlash against the Church of England’s proposals for reparations (Lobbying, lawyers and a media blitz: the fight to kill the Church of England’s £100m slavery compensation fund, 13 October). May I offer observations in two areas?

We are all beneficiaries of the slave trade, like it or not. The work that the Guardian is doing on the actions of its founders will enhance the historical record, but it is unlikely to change the broader picture identified by Eric Hobsbawm and others.