Six in 10 people in Britain believe Caribbean nations and descendants of enslaved people should receive a formal apology from the government, the royal family or firms that profited from exploitation, a survey has found.
The poll, released on the UN International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade, will be delivered to ministers in parliament on Monday by the Repair Campaign, a group calling for a formal response to the historical horrors in the Caribbean.
The poll of 2,016 people representative of the UK population found that support for a formal apology was particularly strong among younger age groups and Black people.
Among all those who supported the idea, 56% said an apology should come from the government, 51% said an apology should come from organisations and companies that historically profited, and 38% said an apology should come from the royal family. Nearly one in five (19%) said all of these groups should apologise.
Denis O’Brien, an Irish businessman and founder of the Repair Campaign, said: “It’s hugely encouraging to see the scale of support in the UK for an apology. The government and monarchy can no longer afford to ignore calls for reparatory justice. The UK’s extraordinary wealth was generated from free labour, free lands and the highly profitable proceeds of slavery.”
The poll found that four in 10 people agreed Caribbean nations should receive financial compensation to make amends for the legacy of slavery and colonialism, while five in 10 disagreed. Among respondents from a Caribbean background, most agreed with the statement, although 27% were uncertain.
Among those who agreed, more than half believed the UK government should pay.
The Labour MP Clive Lewis said: “These results give us the clearest indication yet of the open-minded, progressive and reasoned position that many of our fellow citizens have on the issue of reparatory justice.
“This is a fantastic place to build on, to begin a nationwide conversation about tackling many of the unresolved legacies of 400 years of slavery and empire. I take great heart from these results. Despite what some politicians and those on the right might say, it’s quite clear that the British public is ready to have this conversation.”
The poll found 56% of people reported being knowledgable about the UK’s involvement in slavery for more than 300 years, and about half said they were aware of the legacy of slavery and colonialism.
There have been growing calls in recent years for more governments, institutions and individuals to take accountability for their role in transatlantic slavery. In 2023, the Scott Trust, the Guardian’s owner, apologised for the newspaper’s 19th-century founders’ links to transatlantic slavery, primarily through the textile trade.
Bell Ribeiro-Addy, the chair of the all-party parliamentary group on Afrikan reparations, said: “These figures show that a demand for a public apology resonates deeply with the British public. With changing attitudes towards race and the legacy of empire amongst young people, such an apology is seen as more than just a gesture.”
