Mottley rejects Braverman claim that former colonies owe Britain reparations

Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley has sharply rejected a suggestion from former British MP Suella Braverman that countries once ruled by Britain should pay compensation to the United Kingdom.

The dispute unfolded as Caribbean governments step up demands for reparatory justice. Braverman drew widespread criticism after posting on the social media platform X that former colonies should repay London, arguing that Britain had made substantial investments in those territories and should receive recognition.

At the closing press conference on Wednesday for the 51st regular meeting of CARICOM heads of government, journalists raised the matter with Mottley, who chairs the prime ministerial subcommittee on reparations. She declined to treat the comment as worthy of serious debate.

“I’m not sure that you want me to reply to things that really are asinine,” she said, adding that the idea of paying the United Kingdom for oppression, enslavement, and being treated as chattel was indefensible. She noted that while slavery had existed elsewhere, British colonial rule marked the first time human beings were legally defined as property.

The exchange comes as Jamaica prepares to advance its reparations campaign toward King Charles later this year. Mottley pointed to decades of historical research and slave laws showing vast wealth taken through enslaved labour.

“We’re not asking for charity. We’re asking to be able to ensure that justice can be done,” she said. She recalled that in 1834 the British Parliament accepted compensation for the “loss of property” when slavery ended, paying slave owners £20 million while the enslaved received nothing. She urged critics to study that history before making remarks that reflect poorly on them.

Mottley also questioned why the statement surfaced now, linking it to turbulence in British domestic politics. She warned that Caribbean nations should not be drawn into serving as distractions.

“I have no doubt that there are British parliamentarians who want to distract people from the domestic politics of the United Kingdom at this point in time. But the Caribbean should not be used as a prop in those circumstances,” she said.