Reform would deny visas over calls for slavery reparations

Reform UK has said it would deny new visas to people from countries seeking slavery reparations from Britain, if it formed the next government.

Nigel Farage’s party said this would apply to any country developing a formal approach and the ban would cover all visa types, including ones for visitors and work.

Britain transported an estimated three million African people across the Atlantic before abolishing the practice in the early 1800s.

Successive UK governments have rejected calls for reparations, which can range from financial to symbolic measures.

Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch last month said the UK should not pay compensation for “a crime we helped eradicate and still fight today”.

Reform’s policy proposal comes a fortnight after the United Nations General Assembly backed a resolution declaring the transatlantic slave trade “the gravest crime against humanity”.

The resolution also emphasised that reparation claims “represent a concrete step towards remedying historical wrongs against Africans and people of African descent”.

It was adopted by 123 votes to three, with the UK among the countries that abstained.

Reform named several countries in the Caribbean and Africa as those it considers to be making demands for reparations, and said its policy proposal would put them “on notice”.

The party said it would consider the establishment of national reparations committees or task forces, tabling motions at the UN, making high court claims and official declarations to be among actions it regards as a formal demand.

Those named included Barbados, Jamaica, Nigeria and the UN resolution’s proposer Ghana.

Reform said “from this point” should any country formally demand reparations from Britain, then a future Reform government would respond “by immediately halting the issuance of new visas to their nationals”.

Zia Yusuf, Reform’s home affairs spokesman, said countries seeking reparations “ignore the fact that Britain made huge sacrifices to be the first major power to outlaw slavery and enforce this prohibition”.

‘Desperate gimmick’

The Caribbean Community (Caricom), a grouping of 21 countries, issued its 10-point plan for “reparatory justice” more than a decade ago.

This included asking for a full formal apology, cancelling foreign debts and investment to tackle illiteracy and public health issues.

A Labour Party spokesperson labelled Reform’s policy a “desperate gimmick” while the Conservatives declined to comment.

Liberal Democrat immigration and asylum spokesperson Will Forster accused Reform of “chasing cheap headlines by threatening our allies”, adding the proposal would “damage our economy and our public services”.

Asked about its stance on slavery reparations, the Green Party highlighted a statement from one of its subgroups – the Global Majority Greens – welcoming the UN resolution.

In October 2024, Commonwealth leaders agreed the “time has come” for a conversation about reparations for the slave trade.

This was despite the UK’s wanting to keep the subject off the agenda at a two-day summit in Samoa.

Prime Minister Sir Keir said there had been no discussions about money at the meeting, and that the UK is “very clear” in its position that it would not pay reparations.