Nigel Farage accused of ‘determined gimmick’ with bid to punish 19 nations
Reform UK announced it would block visas for people from 19 countries including Ghana, Jamaica and Barbados if their governments do not stop demanding reparations for slavery
Nigel Farage has hit out at the UN and nations affected by slavery(Image: PA)
Nigel Farage has been accused of a “desperate gimmick” after threatening to block visas for people from 19 countries seeking reparations for Britain’s role in the slave trade.
The Reform UK chief attacked the United Nations (UN) as he vowed to punish citizens from countries including Jamiaca, Ghana, Barbados, Nigeria and Haiti. Last month a UN resolution called for nations that exploited slaves to pay compensation for affected countries.
Keir Starmer has said he has no intention of doing so, in spite of growing pressure from across the globe. Mr Farage pledged a crackdown on African and Caribbean countries demanding compensation – but stopped short of vowing to kick out people from those countries if he becomes PM.
Speaking at a press conference in Warwickshire, Mr Farage accused the UN of using these nations as “pawns to attack everything this country is and has stood for”.
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From the 15th to the 19th centuries, an estimated 12 to 15million African men, women and children were captured and forced to work as slaves, predominantly in the Americas. Around two million died onboard slave ships.
Reparations, affected nations argue, would acknowledge the long-term economic damage and suffering endured. Slaves were sent to colonies controlled by European countries – including France, the UK, Portugal and Spain.
Mr Farage went on: “And there are parts of our past we wouldn’t be proud of, and there are parts of our past we’ve got every right to be immensely proud of, including the uniquely being the one country that spent four decades on the high seas and the loss of thousands of sailors and vast amounts of money driving slavery off the world’s oceans.”
But a Labour spokesman said: “This is a desperate gimmick from Reform that would do nothing to restore order and control to Britain’s borders. Nobody will take Nigel Farage seriously on this when his party is full of opportunistic Tories who failed on immigration when they were in government.”
Earlier Zia Yusuf, Reform’s home affairs spokesman, said: “The United Kingdom is not an ATM for ethnic grievances of the past, and we will no longer tolerate being ridiculed on the world stage.”
The UN resolution was adopted with 123 votes in favour and three against – the United States, Israel and Argentina. The UK was among 52 countries that abstained.
Ghanain foreign minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, told the BBC in March: “We are demanding compensation – and let us be clear, African leaders are not asking for money for themselves.
“We want justice for the victims and causes to be supported, educational and endowment funds, skills training funds.”
Reform UK listed 19 nations that would be affected by Mr Farage’s proposal. These are: Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, CARICOM, Dominica, Ghana, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Kenya, Montserrat, Nigeria, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and Grenadines, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago.
