Anglican Church, Bank of England apologise for historical roles in slave trade

Issued on: 19/06/2020 – 01:14

Two of the UK's biggest institutions — the Church of England and the Bank of England — apologised Thursday for their historic links to slavery with the church calling it "a source of shame".

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The apologies, reported by the Telegraph newspaper, come after analysis of figures compiled by University College London (UCL) found that individual members of both institutions profited from slavery.

The UCL research found that nearly 100 clergymen and six governors plus four directors of the bank benefitted from slavery, reported the Telegraph.

In response, a Church of England spokesman told the newspaper: "While we recognise the leading role clergy and active members of the Church of England played in securing the abolition of slavery, it is a source of shame that others within the church actively perpetrated slavery and profited from it."

A Bank of England spokesman said: "As an institution, the Bank was never itself directly involved in the slave trade, but is aware of some inexcusable connections involving former governors and directors and apologises for them."

The bank added it would remove any images on display of former executives who were involved with the slave trade.

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