Herald Columnist has called on the UK to apologise for its role in the Atlantic slave trade, saying that the “horrible family secret” demanded one.  

Writing in today’s Herald, Mackay says: “We hide behind our act of abolition, as if this washes our hands clean. Yes, Britain abolished slavery, but we were also key architects of the transatlantic slave trade. We helped invent the crime we later banned. Must it be repeated that Scotland was an active, eager participant in England’s acts of empire, colonisation and subjugation, including slavery? 

If we expect the descendants of slaves to simply forget the past, we’re mistaken. For them, history isn’t secret or rarely spoken of, it’s fully present. The matter of slavery’s legacy won’t simply disappear. In fact, it intensifies.” 

What’s it all about? 

Scotland, and Great Britian, was heavily involved in the transatlantic slave trade. Ships left home ports bound for Africa, where they loaded up with black slaves and sailed across to the colonies in America.

There they were sold and the ships' holds were filled with sugar, tobacco and later cotton, to be sailed back home again. 

Many people died, or suffered lives of incredible cruelty and hardship. This went on for centuries. 

READ MORE: Time for Scotland to apologise for its role in slavery

Many Scots grew rich on the trade – not just in shipping and trading, but in owning and running plantations using slaves as labour.  

Money poured into the Empire’s coffers from the trade and was used to finance public works across the land. Many cities owe a great deal of their previous wealth to the slave trade.  

The Herald:

But saying sorry?  

There have been growing calls for the UK to make an official apology for its part in the slave trade, particularly from Caribbean nations. 

While the UK Government has stopped short of a full apology, both the city councils of Edinburgh and Glasgow have done so.  

The City of Edinburgh issued the apology in October last year, saying sorry “to all those who suffered profound physical and mental abuse from the city's past involvement in colonialism and slavery.” 

In March, Susan Aitken, Glasgow City Coumcil leader said: “We apologise today, unreservedly, without excuses, justifications or attempts at self-congratulation of the type we have too often employed in the past.” 

However, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has not followed suit. This year, he said: “trying to unpick our history is not the right way forward". 

But saying sorry is an easy thing to do... 

Normally, yes. But doing so at an official level brings an admission of guilt and opens up the way for those affected to claim reparations.

While there have been private moves to make amends from the descendants of slave owners, at a state level the price tag is huge.  

Earlier this year, a comprehensive report put the UK’s bill for reparations at more than £18 trillion.

READ MORE: Church of Scotland admits slavery links and recommends apology

The study, co-authored by UN judge Patrick Robinson, says the UK should pay the money for its slavery involvement in 14 countries. 

But Mr Robinson said the sum was an "underestimation" of the damage caused by the slave trade.

In total, the reparations to be paid by 31 former slaveholding states - including Spain, the United States and France - amount to $107.8tn (£87.1tn), the report calculates. 

The Herald:

So the UK Government won’t apologise? 

It’s unlikely. The latest thoughts on the matter come from Foreign Minister David Rutley in Parliament earlier this year. 

He said: "We acknowledge the role of British authorities in enabling the slave trade for many years before being the first global force to drive the end of the slave trade in the British empire.

“The most effective way for the UK to respond to the cruelty of the past is to ensure that current and future generations do not forget what happened, that we address racism, and that we continue to work together to tackle today's challenges".