Pressure mounting on Britain to pay reparations for transatlantic slave trade

It was an issue which loomed large over the recent Commonwealth summit in Samoa, a gathering of 56 nations, many of whom were once British colonies.

There are growing calls for Britain to pay reparations to them for its role in the transatlantic slave trade.

It peaked in the 1700s and saw millions of Africans forcibly transported to British colonies in the Americas, the Caribbean, and other countries where they were sold into slavery

The British government, however, insists it will not pay, a position that some Londoners disagree with.

“There's a lot of benefit that was had out of Commonwealth countries. And, definitely it would make sense to have some sort of reparations,” said Chino who is originally from Zimbawe.

Another local resident, Ebony, agreed that there should be reparations, but said they need to be given “in the modern-day context”.

Leaders at the Samoa summit did agree to include a statement in the final communique saying that the time had come for a discussion on the topic.

Some campaigners had hope that Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s new Labour government would be more open to the idea.

Labour party MP, Bell Ribeiro-Addy, who chairs the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Afrikan Reparations, said it should not all be about the money.

"No one's saying, 'empty the coffers, empty out 18 trillion pounds today'. That's definitely not it,” she said.

“And understand that, in the end, it's not meant to disadvantage any one country. In fact, for a country like ours, I think effectively it will benefit it.”

While opponents say countries should not be held responsible for historical wrongs, those for reparations see today’s racial inequalities as a legacy of slavery.