The Standard – Church of England told to increase reparations fund for links to slavery to £1billion
The Standard – Church of England told to increase reparations fund for links to slavery to £1billion
The Church of England’s £100 million fund set up to address historic links is too small and should be raised to £1 billion, says an independent oversight group.
The funding programme was announced in January last year for investment, research and engagement to “address past wrongs”.
But an independent oversight group says that £100 million is “insufficient” to counter the “historic and enduring greed, cynicism and hate with penitence, hope and love”, while adding the project’s nine-year timeframe is too long.
“The sum of £100 million is very small compared to the scale of racial disadvantage originating in African chattel enslavement,” said the group in a report.
The group said the Church Commissioners had “embraced a target of £1 billion for a broader healing, repair and justice initiative with the fund at its centre”.
Patrick Vernon, a member of the oversight group and a well-known Windrush campaigner, welcomed the church’s response to the report, and said it must be “the start of a journey for the country, to talk about this” issue.
Click here to read more The Standard