Laura Trevelyan: My slavery link to MP shows reality of reparations

In a quiet corridor of the UK parliament, which played a pivotal role in the development and eventual abolition of the transatlantic slave trade, Labour MP Clive Lewis snaps a selfie with two campaigners.

The campaigners are former BBC journalist Laura Trevelyan and her cousin John Dower, who recently apologised to the Caribbean island of Grenada for their family's historic role in the slave trade.

All smiling broadly, the trio in the photo could be old friends.

But until last month, Ms Trevelyan had no idea there was a British MP who could trace his roots to Grenada, where in the 19th century her family owned more than 1,000 slaves.

"In fact, it's entirely possible that his ancestors were owned by my ancestors," said Ms Trevelyan.

"So in that sense, we represent both the pain of Britain's colonial past but also the promise - as we're now working together.

"I hope that by the two of us talking about that link, that will show people in Britain and indeed around the world, that this isn't something that's abstract."

Last month, the Trevelyan family agreed to donate more than £100,000 to education projects on the tiny Caribbean island as compensation for its involvement in slavery.

Ms Trevelyan then quit the BBC after 30 years to become a full-time slavery reparations campaigner.

On the day of her family's apology, she saw that Mr Lewis had stood up in the House of Commons and said he couldn't find a single statement by a British minister on the issue of reparations.

Members of the Trevelyan family then attended a parliamentary debate about reparations led by Mr Lewis.

"Then we figured out we had this link," Ms Trevelyan said. "Grenada is a small island - about the size of the Isle of Wight."

This means, she was told, that "probably literally everyone on Grenada is descended at some point from someone who was owned by one of your ancestors".

"That to me was incredibly striking. That link to Clive Lewis is one that brought me here to Westminster."

Mr Lewis, whose father was born and raised in Grenada, welcomed the Trevelyan family apology and said there had "never been a conversation in this country about our role in the world for good and for bad".

He said: "There are black people in this country who've been talking about this for many decades."

It was ironic, added the MP for Norwich South, that the power structures created by the slave trade in the UK were "part of the reason why those voices don't have access in the media".

"A white family who benefited from slavery have decided to show real leadership on this, which is something that hasn't been done before."

While Caribbean nations have long proposed a 10-point reparations plan, Mr Lewis said the Trevelyan family had "driven a wedge into the door of this issue and it's now incumbent upon all of us to keep going and push it wider".

British authorities and the monarchy were prominent participants in the trade, which saw millions of Africans enslaved and forced to work, especially on plantations in the Caribbean, between the 16th and 19th centuries.

The British government has never formally apologised for slavery or offered to pay reparations.

Ms Trevelyan and Mr Lewis have joined calls for Rishi Sunak to hold talks with Caribbean leaders on how the UK can make amends for its slavery past.

But, why should the British prime minister care about the issue of reparations?

Ms Trevelyan argued that repayment is due for what Barbadian historian Sir Hilary Beckles has called "Britain's black debt", which he says left Caribbean nations with nothing when slavery ended.

Following her family's apology, the prime minister of Grenada, Dickon Mitchell, urged Mr Sunak to enter into negotiations with Caribbean leaders to discuss their reparations plan.

Although Ms Trevelyan's ancestors never set foot on Grenada, they were involved in and profited from multiple sugar cane plantations on the island.

After a British Act of Parliament to abolish slavery in 1833, the Trevelyans received about £34,000 for the loss of their "property" on Grenada - the equivalent of about £3m in today's money.

The reaction to the family's £100,000 donation in Grenada was mixed, though, with some saying it was an inadequate amount of money and the apology would make no difference.

Back in the UK, King Charles III is coming under pressure to say more about the Royal Family's historic role in the slave trade after his coronation in May.

The Royal African Company, set up with a charter granted by King Charles II in the 17th century, shipped thousands of enslaved Africans to the Americas.

Last year, during a meeting of Commonwealth leaders, King Charles said: "I cannot describe the depths of my personal sorrow at the suffering of so many, as I continue to deepen my own understanding of slavery's enduring impact."

But the Royal Family has offered no formal apology for Britain's participation in the slave trade.

A formal royal apology has long been awaited by Caricom, the political and economic union of Caribbean nations.

One senior Caricom diplomat, Dorbrene O'Marde, said Caribbean leaders were keen to have a discussion with "both royalty and the political leadership of the country". "It is a critical step forward," he said.

He said while no progress had been made on this, "there might be a small opening into the reparations debate".

"I expect that our political leadership will certainly increase political and diplomatic pressure to have that conversation," Mr O'Marde said.

Buckingham Palace did not wish to comment.

Responding to the calls for reparations talks, the Foreign Office said the government acknowledges the role of British authorities in enabling the slave trade for many years.

"We deeply regret this appalling atrocity and how it harmed so many people," a spokesperson said.

The spokesperson said the government believes economic and aid initiatives are "the most effective way for the UK to respond to the cruelty of the past".