Justin Welby Says Slavery Reparations Would Be a Vast Fine on British People

Justin Welby, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, has put his name to a contested argument. In a comment piece in The Independent, as reported by The Times, he said reparations over slavery would be like imposing “a vast fine on the entire British people for a crime they did not commit.” At the same time, King Charles expressed profound sorrow over the slave trade on a Caribbean tour, Kaieteur News reports, while stopping short of an apology.

All three outlets used here — The Times, Kaieteur News and the Religion Media Centre — report the same underlying Independent piece, which was not opened for this article. Every Welby quotation below is therefore attributed as Welby wrote in The Independent, as reported by one of those outlets.

Welby argued that many British taxpayers are themselves descended from slaves, The Times reports, and that the vast majority of Britons alive today “have no connection to slavers' profits,” which is why “the idea of reparations for slavery is wrong.” He highlighted, The Times reports, “sailors of the Royal Navy who died liberating the slaves” and “UK parliamentarians who spent their lives campaigning for the abolition of slavery and its trade.” Kaieteur News reports the same passage as a question Welby posed: “What about those sailors of the Royal Navy who died liberating the slaves, or the UK parliamentarians who spent their lives campaigning for the abolition of slavery and its trade?”

Welby wrote in The Independent, as reported by The Times, that reparations cannot be defined fairly: “You can't define who should receive or who should pay. The UK of 2026 is a totally different country from that of 1833, at the abolition of slavery in the British Empire.” He added, The Times reports, that there was “no straight line between victims of those times and their descendants” and that “too much time has passed.”

“You may be able to fine individual people for their conduct, but not everyone for their nationality,” Welby wrote in The Independent, as reported by The Times. “Group punishment is a moral evil,” he added, as reported by The Times, and Kaieteur News likewise reports Welby warning that forcing millions of ordinary Britons to fund huge sums in slavery reparations would be a “moral evil.”

Justin Welby Slavery Reparations Vast Fine British People

Welby suggested it could be right to invest money in projects benefiting regions affected by slavery, rather than paying direct sums to descendants of enslaved people, The Times reports. He favours investment in affected communities alongside fair trade and economic partnerships with Caribbean and West African countries, the Religion Media Centre reports, and says Britain must acknowledge the brutality of its history and repent of the racism that underpinned slavery.

“Investment in new technologies and solving current existential dangers in partnership will build more wealth than a futile and unjust payment of fake 'reparations' ever could,” Welby wrote in The Independent, as reported by both The Times and Kaieteur News. The Times also reports his closing line about repenting of the racism of slavery and changing lives together.

During Welby's tenure, the church agreed to create a £100 million fund to “atone” for its own investment in slave-trading companies during the 18th century, The Times reports, noting the fund has commonly been described as a reparations-type project. Welby argued in The Independent, The Times reports, that the Church Commissioners “deliberately did not propose reparations” but created an endowment for impact investment in regions affected by slavery.

Welby said this was “not reparations” but “a variety of venture capital,” The Times reports, adding: “You can't repair a brutal past, but you can share in building a better future.” The distinction is presented with both attributions here, without settling the label in this article's own voice. Welby served as the Church of England's top cleric for 12 years, The Times reports, and resigned as Archbishop of Canterbury after a report criticised his handling of abuse allegations.

King Charles Caribbean Tour Slavery Sorrow No Apology

During a speech to Commonwealth leaders in the Caribbean on 3 November 2026, King Charles expressed profound sorrow over the transatlantic slave trade but did not offer a formal apology, Kaieteur News, syndicating The Independent, reports. The King said the trade “fills my heart with horror,” Kaieteur News reports, and that it “still casts a shadow over these islands and other members of our Commonwealth.”

During the King's nine-day Caribbean tour, protesters called for a formal apology and reparations, The Times reports. Kaieteur News reports a small protest with placards reading “You say you regret so apologise” and “Apologise for the greatest crime against humanity and let's have reparatory justice,” with no crowd size given.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham signalled openness to a formal apology and approved £40 million in aid for the Caribbean, Kaieteur News reports, but ruled out direct financial reparations. The £40 million will be given over three years for infrastructure investment, Kaieteur News reports.

The debate turns on a question: what does repair look like two centuries later? Welby's answer is investment in a seperate frame from direct payment, while the protesters' answer, on their placards, is apology and reparatory justice.

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Whether Burnham's promised discussions produce an apology, whether Welby's investment argument persuades those asking for payments, and whether the King's sorrow is heard in the Caribbean as enough or as a stopping point, are all questions the reporting of 3 and 4 November leaves open. The next words in this debate may come from a speech, a placard, or a funding decision, and each will be measured against the line Welby is reported to have drawn.

But the most surprising part of this story is yet to come — keep reading.