September 27th 2023.
Last Wednesday on Good Morning Britain, Richard Madeley interviewed the President of Guyana, Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali, to discuss his view that the UK should pay slavery reparations. This discussion was prompted by the UN's call for countries to consider compensating those that were harmed by colonialism and enslavement.
The interview soon became heated when Madeley asked the 43-year-old President why the UK should carry the burden of something that happened years ago. President Ali responded by stating that the UK was a beneficiary of the slave trade and so it should pay out compensation for the exploitation of enslaved people. He went on to explain that resources were taken from the developing world and used to build the UK, leaving them behind in the process.
Madeley then asked what form of reparations the President wanted, to which he simply said ‘we’re asking for justice’. Madeley then suggested that perhaps the British royal family should make a big gesture, asking ‘what do you mean hand over a palace?’ President Ali replied that they didn’t want the British public to hand over palaces they had built, and that in those palaces you can see ‘the sweat, blood and tears of the slaves who were exploited’.
The debate led to hundreds of complaints, with many dubbing Madeley’s treatment of the South American leader as ‘patronising’ and ‘disrespectful’. Good Morning Britain has since been hit with Ofcom complaints.
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