UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the idea of reparations for former colonial countries affected by slavery “is not about money transfers”.
In his first comments since the 56 Commonwealth leaders signed a statement saying the time had come for a discussion on reparations, Lammy told the BBC it was not “a debate people want to have”.
The UK government has previously ruled out paying reparations for slavery and Downing Street has said its position includes “other forms of justice that are not financial”.
Lammy said that instead the UK would look to improve relations with African countries by sharing skills and science.
On his first trip to Africa as foreign secretary, Lammy said compensation is not about money, “especially at a time of high cost of living”.
Reparations are steps to make amends for past actions that are deemed wrongful or wrongful, and can range from financial to symbolic.
Caribbean nations have developed a 10-point plan for restorative justice in which they demand a full legal apology, education programs, health care and direct cash payments.
Speaking in Lagos, a Nigerian port city that was once at the center of the trans-Atlantic slave trade, the foreign secretary said the period was “horrendous and horrific” and had left “scars”.
“I'm a descendant of enslaved people, so I see that.”
Lammy said it was right to apologize “and remember the abolition of the slave trade” when Labor was last in power.
The UK has never officially apologized for its role in the slave trade, although in 2007 former Labor Prime Minister Tony Blair said: “I actually said: We're sorry. And I'm saying it again now.”
The British government and monarchy played a major role in the slave trade that spanned centuries from the 1500s, along with other European nations.
Britain was also instrumental in ending the trade, with Parliament passing the Slavery Act in 1833.
Lammy's comments followed talks on reparations at the Commonwealth leaders' summit in Samoa in October.
Amid growing calls from Commonwealth heads of government for reparations for the country's role in the slave trade, Downing Street has insisted the issue will not be off the table.
But Sir Keir Starmer later signed a letter saying there must be talks on “restorative justice” along with other Commonwealth leaders – although he said there were no discussions about money at the meeting.
Lammy said he believed developing countries would benefit in part from things like the transfer of technical skills and scientific knowledge from the UK.
Lammy spoke to the BBC at the start of a tour of Nigeria and South Africa – the continent's largest economy.
He said the UK needed a “new approach to Africa” and that he wanted to introduce a five-month consultation period with African countries.
He said a lot has changed since the last Labor government, where the focus was on development.
He said he wished to see more relations between the UK and African countries.
“What I have heard is that the UK has gone backwards in the last few years.
“There's a lot I think we can do together in the coming months and years.”
Asked about other issues affecting Africa, Lammy said the conflict in Sudan is “very worrying” and he plans to make it a priority in November, when the UK has the presidency of the United Nations Security Council.
He said the loss of life was “unbelievable and surpasses other conflicts around the world”, and planned to raise the humanitarian situation and plans for a “peaceful outcome”.
He added that “it was very worrying that Sudan did not get the international attention it needed,” given the “huge consequences” in Africa and beyond.
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