Reform UK proposes visa ban over slavery reparations demands

Nigel Farage's Reform UK would stop issuing visas to nationals from any country demanding slavery reparations from Britain, announced the party's home affairs spokesman Zia Yusuf. Speaking to The Telegraph, Yusuf dismissed compensation claims as "insulting", arguing that many nations ignore that Britain "made huge sacrifices to be the first major power to outlaw slavery".

Yusuf expressed outrage that over the past two decades, successive Conservative and Labour governments had issued 3.8 million visas to people from countries seeking reparations and sent £6.6 billion in foreign aid. Under Reform's proposed 'Reparations Lock', the UK would halt all new visas - including work, study, family, and visitor visas - to nationals of countries formally demanding reparations.

"The United Kingdom is not an ATM for ethnic grievances of the past, and we will no longer tolerate being ridiculed on the world stage," Yusuf stated. His comments follow last month's UN General Assembly resolution declaring the transatlantic slave trade "the gravest crime against humanity", which passed with 123 votes including Russia and China.

At least 17 countries have demanded reparations from Britain, including Caribbean and African nations. A 2023 report concluded the UK owes over $24 trillion to 14 Caribbean countries - a sum the British government has ruled out, with Chancellor Rachel Reeves stating the country "cannot afford" such amounts.