Sir Lenny Henry has ignited a significant debate by advocating for slavery reparations to be paid to all black Britons, an argument detailed in his new book, 'The Big Payback'. He posits that the United Kingdom should compensate its black population for the enduring 'effects of slavery', tracing modern-day racism, institutionalised racism within police forces, and other societal disparities like higher black unemployment rates, directly back to the transatlantic slave trade.

The book asserts that reparations are not merely about financial compensation but must also 'dismantle the foundations' of Western society, which Sir Lenny argues were built on slavery and racism, and subsequently 'make new foundations'. 'The Big Payback' cites a 2023 University of West Indies report that concluded the UK owed more than £18 trillion in slavery reparations. However, it is crucial to note that this report specifically suggested payments to 14 former Caribbean colonies and did not include any figure for black Britons directly.

Addressing the monumental financial implications, Sir Lenny explores theories for generating such vast sums, which equate to approximately seven times Britain's gross domestic product of £2.7 trillion. One prominent idea, researched by economist Bhavik Doshi and referenced in the book, is a 'Robin Hood tax' or financial transactions tax. This would involve a tax on the purchase or sale of bonds, stocks, derivatives, or foreign exchange transactions. Doshi suggested that a 1 percent tax on the transaction value, applied to both buyer and seller globally, could generate up to £117 billion per day. Sir Lenny expressed his affinity for this idea, noting the 'poetic justice' given that the 'modern international banking system was literally built off the proceeds of the transatlantic slave trade'. Another funding concept presented by Doshi is 'repurposed financial sanctions', where fines levied against countries for internationally recognised crimes would be redirected to nations that were victims of slavery.

Historically, Britain played a central role in the transatlantic slave trade, which reached its peak in the 1700s, forcibly transporting millions of African people to its colonies in the Americas and the Caribbean. The ships then returned to the UK laden with 'slave-grown' commodities like sugar, tobacco, and cotton. While the Slavery Abolition Act of 1833 abolished slavery across most of the British Empire, it infamously compensated British plantation owners, viewing enslaved people as 'property', without providing any reparations to the enslaved individuals themselves. This compensation amounted to £20 million, roughly 40 percent of the Treasury's annual income at the time, and the debts incurred were only fully paid off by the British public through taxes in 2015.

Calls for reparatory justice have persisted since the 15th century, intensifying in recent years. Caricom, a group of 15 Caribbean nations, has put forward a 10-point plan for dialogue on economic development and reparatory justice, including demands for a 'sincere and formal apology', psychological rehabilitation for African descendant populations, and support for domestic debt payment and international debt cancellation stemming from colonialism. While some Labour MPs, like Bell Ribeiro-Addy, have criticised the government's reluctance to discuss reparations, Foreign Secretary David Lammy and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak have consistently stated that the UK will 'not be making cash transfers and payments' in relation to slavery reparations. Successive UK governments have maintained this position, also declining to issue a formal apology for Britain's role in the slave trade, with Sir Keir Starmer suggesting such discussions would lead to 'endless discussions' and that the focus should be on 'facing forward'.

However, Dr. Rakib Ehsan, an independent researcher in social cohesion and race relations, offers a contrasting view, suggesting that instead of getting 'into a right tangle over Britain’s admittedly complicated history and the concept of slavery reparations', it would be more constructive to be future-oriented. He advocates for the UK to cooperate with Caribbean and African Commonwealth countries in a spirit of partnership and to focus on achieving equality of opportunity for its diverse communities at home, prioritizing practical solutions over 'the politics of grievance and victimhood'. The book itself notably does not delve into how the majority of the 2.4 million black people in Britain are of direct African descent, rather than descendants of those enslaved in the Caribbean.