SLAVERY REPARATIONS & PRISON GIFT (INSULT TO INJURY) : VETERAN parliamentarian Mike Henry slams UK £25-million grant prison plan as British Prime Minister David Cameron tells Caribbean to look beyond reparation for slavery

BY BALFORD HENRY Senior staff reporter balfordh@jamaicaobserver.com  Thursday, October 01, 2015    

VETERAN parliamentarian Mike Henry yesterday said that Britain was adding "insult to injury" with its £25-million grant to help construct a new prison in Jamaica and vowed to take his fight for reparation for slavery to the International Court of Justice.

Former Transport and Works Minister Mike Henry

Henry expressed his annoyance with London as British Prime Minister David Cameron urged the region to "move on" from the issue of reparations and focus on the future.

"Slavery was and is abhorrent in all its forms. It has no place whatsoever in any civilised society, and Britain is proud to have eventually led the way in its abolition," Cameron told a joint sitting of both Houses of Jamaica's Parliament.

"I acknowledge that these wounds run very deep, indeed. But, I do hope that, as friends who have gone through so much together since those darkest of times, we can move on from this painful legacy and continue to build for the future," he said.

Cameron stated that his reason for wanting to come to Jamaica was because of his interest of the future relationship between the UK and the Caribbean.

"I'm here because we have common aspirations and interests that we can meet better by working more closely together. I passionately believe that our relationship now is more important than it has ever been -- for both of us," he said.

David Cameron, UK Prime Minister

However, Henry, who represents Clarendon Central in the legislature, and a small group of placard-bearing demonstrators supporting reparations and who staged a peaceful protest outside Gordon House, were not convinced.

Henry, who has consistently led the fight for reparation in Parliament, boycotted the joint sitting.

"I still stand resolute that Britain has not apologised for slavery," Henry told the Jamaica Observer yesterday.

He said that he was aware that Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller has said that she had raised the issue with Cameron, "but is she satisfied with the response?" more