Nigel Farage has been accused of a “desperate gimmick” after threatening to block visas for people from countries seeking reparations for Britain’s role in the slave trade.
Reform UK has pledged a crackdown on African and Caribbean countries calling for compensation for slavery. Zia Yusuf, the party’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.”
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.”
Keir Starmer has previously ruled out paying reparations.
What has Reform said?
Reform UK’s home affairs spokesman, Zia Yusuf, pointed to Britain’s role in abolishing the slave trade to justify refusing reparations.
He said if he becomes Home Secretary, he will instead bring in measures to punish countries who lobby for restitution. Mr Yusuf said he would refuse visas to people from countries who demand reparations. He said: “A growing number of countries are demanding reparations from Britain.
“They ignore the fact that Britain made huge sacrifices to be the first major power to outlaw slavery and enforce this prohibition.
“Astonishingly, of the countries demanding reparations, Tory and Labour governments issued 3.8million visas to their nationals and sent them a staggering £6.6billion in foreign aid over the past two decades. Enough is enough.”
What are reparations and why are countries calling for them?
Countries whose citizens were forced into slavery have been asking for reparations for more than a century.
They argue nations including the UK profited from the vile trade while their nations suffered huge damage. 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.
Reparations, affected nations argue, would acknowledge the long-term economic damage and suffering endured by the people affected. Slaves were sent to colonies controlled by European countries – including France, the UK, Portugal and Spain.
Around two million died onboard slave ships. Earlier this year the United Nations general assembly heard calls, proposed by Ghana, calling on those who profited from slavery to contribute to a reparations fund.
The African Union, a bloc of 55 member states, is seeking compensation for the harms inflicted by the slave trade.