KINGSTON, Jamaica, Sep 30 2015 – British Prime Minister David Cameron faced calls to “personally atone” for his family’s historic ties to slavery as his first day visiting Jamaica was overshadowed by a row about reparations.
The Prime Minister was publicly pressed on whether Britain will pay compensation to Caribbean countries for its role in the slave trade by Portia Simpson Miller, Jamaica’s Prime Minister.
Campaigners accused the UK of racism for compensating slave owners but not those enslaved when the practice was abolished in 1833 and demanded Mr Cameron issue a public apology.
At least one Jamaican MP has threatened to turn his back when the Prime Minister addresses the Jamaican Parliament if he fails to discuss reparations.
Cameron is on a two-day trip to the Caribbean, becoming the first British leader to visit Jamaica in 14 years before moving on to Grenada.
