No UK slave trade apology from Blair
TONY Blair refused to bow to demands to apologise for Britain's role in the slave trade yesterday, expressing instead "deep sorrow and regret" for the suffering it caused.
Britain's first black archbishop, Dr John Sentamu, had earlier joined calls for the Prime Minister to "go a bit further" than such expressions of regret.
But Mr Blair - in a video message recorded for an event in Ghana to mark the 200th anniversary of Britain passing an abolition law - stopped short of an apology.
He said the legislation, pushed through Parliament by William Wilberforce, had begun the process of ending "one of the most shameful enterprises in history".
"It is an opportunity for the United Kingdom to express our deep sorrow and regret for our nation's role in the slave trade," he said.
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Sunday 27 May 2012
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