Britain 'should apologise' for slave trade
Sunday, 25 Mar 2007 21:03
Dr John Sentamu said Britain owes an apology for slavery
The archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, has said that Britain should apologise for the slave trade.
Dr Sentamu's comments come as events take place around the world to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the abolition of British slavery.
Speaking to BBC One's Sunday AM programme, the archbishop of York said that Britain should make a formal apology for the way it bought and sold slaves "as it did crops like onions or maize".
"A nation of this quality should have the sense of saying we are very sorry and we have to put the record straight," Dr Sentamu said.
Tony Blair has previously expressed "deep sorrow" on behalf of Britain for the slave trade but the archbishop called on the prime minister to go further during his address to a ceremony in Ghana on Sunday.
Mr Blair spoke via video message at an event in Elmina Castle, where slaves were held before being transported to the Americas.
"It is an opportunity for the United Kingdom to express our deep sorrow and regret for our nation's role in the slave trade and for the unbearable suffering, individually and collectively, it caused," he said
Dr Sentamu has also blamed the church for the part that it played in the use of slaves, saying that it "was involved in a very terrible trade".
"It's important that we all own up to what was collectively done," the archbishop said.