Mia Mottley slams ‘unacceptable’ exclusion of the Caribbean in church reparations plans

BARBADOS’ Prime Minister has criticised reparations packages which have been put forward without any input from the Caribbean or descendants of enslaved people. Prime Minister Mia Mottley referenced the Church of England’s £100 million reparations fund for its role in the Transatlantic slave trade and said the church failed to have a conversation about what would be appropriate for reparations. Mottley described the lack of inclusion as “unacceptable.” In March this year, the Church of England announced that Black-led organisations would be the beneficiaries of a £100 million fund aimed at addressing the church’s role in slavery. While delivering a keynote speech at the Open Society Foundations United Nations Summit in New York last week, Mottley said: “When the Church of England commissioned the study on Queen Anne’s Bounty and determined that they would give reparations of £100 million it is a step in the right direction.” But she also added the reparations offer “ignored the agency of us and they never stopped to ask us or have a conversation with us, as to what is appropriate.” “That is unacceptable.” UNACCEPTABLE: Mia Mottley, Prime Minister of Barbados, speaks about reparations. (Video: Repair Campaign YouTube) The church’s investment fund is called...