Reform UK Pledges Visa Block on Reparations-Demanding Nations

Reform UK, the anti-immigration party led by Nigel Farage, has pledged to block visa applications from nationals of any country that demands reparations from Britain for its historical role in the transatlantic slave trade, should the party gain power in the next general election.

The announcement, made public this week, targets up to 17 nations primarily in Africa and the Caribbean that have formally pursued compensation. Reform UK's home affairs spokesman, Zia Yusuf, stated that the policy would immediately halt work, study, visitor, and family reunion visas for individuals from those countries. He argued that such demands overlook Britain's efforts to abolish slavery, noting that the United Kingdom was the first major power to outlaw the trade in 1833 and enforce its prohibition through the Royal Navy's West Africa Squadron, which seized about 1,600 slave ships and freed around 150,000 people by 1860.

Yusuf highlighted that over the past two decades, previous Conservative and Labour governments issued 3.8 million visas to nationals from these countries and provided 6.6 billion pounds in foreign aid. "Enough is enough," he said, adding that the United Kingdom would no longer...