GRASSROOTS campaigners came together today at a conference hosted by the all-party parliamentary group for African reparations.

Building on the momentum and wide engagement of last year’s inaugural event, attendees discussed the issue of reparations for the transatlantic slave trade, colonisation and the continued exploitation of peoples of African descent across the world.

Former British colonies called for the British government to discuss reparations at the Commonwealth heads of government meeting in Samoa at the weekend.

The Labour government has followed predecessors in ruling out offering reparations or an apology for Britain’s historical involvement in slavery.

Ahead of the conference, group chairwoman and Labour MP Bell Ribeiro-Addy said: “Reparations are not about relitigating historic injustices: they are about remedying the deep-rooted inequalities that still shape our world today.

“At a time when there is growing awareness of how racial hierarchies that endure to this day were constituted to justify the enslavement and colonisation of African peoples, state-led action on reparations is sadly lacking.

“This year’s conference aims to change this by focusing on how we can build support for the policy solutions needed to effect reparative justice on a local, national and international scale.”

Conference co-chairwoman and Labour MP Diane Abbott said: “The descendants of African slaves and colonised peoples continue to suffer from the consequences generations later.

“Real reparations aren’t just about compensation, they’re a way of tackling colonialism’s damaging legacy of racism and inequality.

“They are about the total system change and repair needed to heal, empower and restore dignity.”