Former British Home Secretary Suella Braverman has called on Ghana and other former British colonies to pay reparations to the United Kingdom for what she described as the “investment, effort and contribution” made by the British Empire in developing those countries.

“If the government is seriously thinking about this, then former colonies should pay the British back for the considerable investment, effort and contribution that this country made, which laid the foundations for many flourishing democracies today,” she said.

Image Credit: Jacob King/PA

Braverman’s remarks come amid growing calls from Ghana and several other African countries for reparative justice over the transatlantic slave trade and the lasting impacts of colonialism on African societies and the descendants of enslaved people.

The comments also follow renewed efforts by African leaders to push for reparations. Earlier this week, African Union and CARICOM leaders meeting in Ghana endorsed a joint 19-point reparations framework calling for formal apologies, financial compensation, debt relief, cultural restitution, and climate justice from countries that benefited from slavery and colonialism.