Britain has bluntly declared that it “does not and will not make reparations” after Jamaica took its historic fight for reparatory justice to Buckingham Palace, petitioning King Charles III to seek legal answers over Britain’s role in the enslavement of Africans. However, as international reports continue to circulate claims that Jamaica is seeking US$10 billion, Culture Minister Olivia ‘Babsy’ Grange has set the record straight, insisting that the petition itself contains no monetary claim.
Grange led a Jamaican delegation to London on September 7 to formally file the petition, which asks the King, in his capacity as Jamaica’s Head of State, to refer three major legal questions to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. Jamaica wants to know whether the seizure, transportation and enslavement of Africans were lawful under English law, whether those acts breached international law, and whether the UK has a legal obligation to provide a reparatory remedy. “We want answers,” Grange said ahead of the filing, stressing that Jamaica’s legal team will determine the next steps once those questions have been addressed.
The US$10 billion figure has nevertheless generated major international attention and conflicting headlines. While some reports have presented it as the value of Jamaica’s reparations claim, Grange has explicitly stated that the Government’s petition does not include a monetary demand. “This petition of the Government of Jamaica to His Majesty the King does not include a monetary claim,” she said following the filing, adding that much of the public reaction had been based on misinformation. Jamaica’s position is that the current petition is designed to establish answers to fundamental legal questions, with any potential remedy to follow through the legal process rather than a price being attached at this stage.
Meanwhile, the British government has maintained its longstanding opposition to reparations, acknowledging that the transatlantic slave trade was “abhorrent” while insisting compensation will not be paid. King Charles was not at Buckingham Palace when the petition was lodged, but Grange has clarified that the delegation did not expect to personally hand the document to him and said Buckingham Palace worked with Jamaica’s Governor-General to ensure it was properly filed. The Culture Minister is also pressing for the return of Caribbean artefacts held in British institutions, making Jamaica’s London mission about far more than money. With the UK saying no, Jamaica saying it wants answers, and the legal route now officially underway, the reparations debate has entered a new and potentially historic chapter.
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