Lib Dems’ Ed Davey calls for national debate over UK’s slavery role

Davey says King Charles is ‘moving towards trying to look at this issue with greater subtlety’ than government

The Liberal Democrat leader, Ed Davey, has called for a national debate over Britain’s role in the slave trade, after the coronation reignited questions over the monarchy’s historical links.

He said he wanted a “more open-minded approach” to dealing with questions over the UK’s role in enslaving Africans, praising the path taken by the New Zealand government, which has offered an apology and more than $150m in reparations to Indigenous communities for past mistreatment.