REFORM UK has said it would stop issuing visas to people from countries that continue to demand compensation from the UK for its role in the transatlantic slave trade.
Zia Yusuf, the party’s home affairs spokesperson, told the Daily Telegraph that calls for reparations were “insulting”. He said 3.8 million visas had been issued over the past two decades to people from countries making such demands.
Last month, the UN voted to describe the transatlantic slave trade as the “gravest crime against humanity” and called for reparations as “a concrete step towards remedying historical wrongs”.
The resolution was backed by the African Union and Caricom and proposed by Ghana’s president, John Dramani Mahama, who said: “Let it be recorded that when history beckoned, we did what was right for the memory of millions who suffered the indignity of slavery.”
The UK and EU members abstained, while the US voted against the non-binding resolution.
Yusuf told the Daily Telegraph: “A growing number of countries are demanding reparations from Britain. These countries ignore the fact that Britain made huge sacrifices to be the first major power to outlaw slavery and enforce this prohibition.”
He added: “The bank is closed and the door is locked.” He said: “The United Kingdom is not an ATM for ethnic grievances of the past, and we will no longer tolerate being ridiculed on the world stage.” He added: “While countries like Jamaica, Nigeria and Ghana ramp up their demands for reparations, the Westminster establishment has rewarded them. Enough is enough.”
Reform UK has also pledged to end international aid to countries seeking reparations.
