Readers push back on Andy Burnham's claim that today's Britons cannot be liable for slavery

Summary

A Guardian letter responds to an opinion piece by Andy Burnham (published 30 October) in which he argued that people today cannot be held liable for historical wrongs 'in which they played no personal part'. The letter writer agrees on personal liability but says Burnham confuses that with the continuing responsibility of the state. The writer says that when slavery was abolished in the British empire in 1833, the government borrowed £20m to compensate enslavers for the loss of their supposed property, with some 40,000 claims made. The writer says the British taxpayer carried the cost and that the resulting public debt was not finally cleared until 2015. The letter is headlined 'Britain must have the courage to face its legacy of slavery'.

Timeline

1. The Guardian

   3 Nov 2026, 17:50 UTCSource ↗

   The Guardian's letters page, published 3 November, carries a reader response to Andy Burnham's 30 October opinion piece, arguing the state retains responsibility for Britain's slavery compensation debt even though people today are not personally liable.