A "culture of capitulation" within the Labour party risks significant costs for the UK, a former senior diplomat has warned, as the government considers an apology for Britain's role in the slave trade.
John Jenkins, who previously served as the Foreign Office's director for the Middle East and North Africa, described a planned apology, reportedly favored by figures like Andy Burnham, as akin to a "shakedown" orchestrated by "professional grievance entrepreneurs" seeking reparations from British taxpayers. Jenkins contends that a pattern of "capitulations" by the British state only "invites further demands."
He pointed to several instances as evidence, including the handling of the Chagos Islands dispute, arguing that attempts to "surrender" the territory have not resolved the issue but instead created new challenges to British sovereignty as other nations perceive "weakness." Similarly, Jenkins suggested that Labour's "unnecessarily accepting" a non-binding court ruling on the archipelago's ownership has "emboldened Argentine claims on the Falklands."
In a report for the Policy Exchange, Jenkins also cited the UK's responses to the IRA, Iran, and Islamist groups as examples of accepting "threats and grievances detrimental to British interests, with each retreat encouraging fresh concessions." This approach, he warned, leaves the UK vulnerable to "increasingly extravagant claims," such as a reported £18 trillion bill for slavery following a UN vote in favor of former colonial powers paying reparations.
To counter such demands and reassert Britain's global standing, Jenkins advocated for rebuilding the Armed Forces rather than relying on "tired mantras about 'soft power.'"
Professor John Bew, a foreign policy adviser who wrote the foreword to Jenkins' report, echoed these sentiments, suggesting that Britain engages in "self-flagellation and status anxiety with a relish few nations can match." He called for a "stiffening of spine" in foreign policy and a pursuit of "historical self-reflection rather than historical self-flagellation." According to Bew, failing to do so presents an "open invitation for others to take advantage of a Britain that appears too up for grabs, and too quick to seek to buy off adversaries with an ever-diminishing pot of national gold."
The discussion comes as Prime Minister Rishi Sunak agreed to hold talks on the historical harms of the slave trade during a meeting of Commonwealth countries in Antigua. While Burnham has expressed willingness to issue a formal apology for the UK's role in slavery, he has ruled out direct reparations. However, he has not dismissed other forms of assistance, such as help with debt repayments for struggling Commonwealth nations. The UK also committed £40 million for infrastructure investment in the Caribbean.