Prime Minister, Dr. Andrew Holness, says Jamaica welcomes news that the United Kingdom is now willing to engage meaningfully on reparatory justice.

In a statement Friday evening, Dr. Holness says the government is encouraged that British Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, and his administration are open to listening to calls for a formal apology for chattel enslavement.

The Prime Minister says Jamaica has always been open to full and meaningful dialogue on the issue.

He notes that the development comes in the wake of Jamaica’s legal petition, which is now before the Privy Council, and says the country looks forward to the discussions and actions that will follow.

The shift marks a change in tone from London.

In September, the British government said it would not make reparations for the transatlantic slave trade, as a Jamaican delegation led by Culture Minister, Olivia Grange, filed the petition to King Charles the Third on September 7.

The King has since referred the petition to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, which is being asked to rule on whether the enslavement of Africans in Jamaica was lawful, whether it was a crime against humanity, and whether Britain has a legal obligation to provide reparations.

A hearing is provisionally set for March 2027.