KINGSTON, Jamaica 

^{— The topic of reparations and the Royals apologising for the slave trade in the Caribbean has caused much debate once again with the visit of Prince William and his wife Kate visiting Jamaica and the Caribbean in recognition of the 70th}

 anniversary of the Queen’s coronation.

The debate continued this morning on a British television talk show, Jeremy Vine, where a video was shared on Twitter of Carole Malone, a columnist with the Daily Express, stating that no living British citizen is responsible for slavery and therefore should not pay.

“No living British citizen were part of the slave trade and we’re not responsible for the crimes of dead slave traders so why are we being asked to apologise, to pay reparations. Writing someone a cheque is not going to undo how someone feels about their history,” Malone said.

She continued, “People all over the world are living a life that they may not have lead if slaves hadn’t been used. We know that every city, every building was built by slaves.”

However, Yasmin Alibhai-Brown, a Uganda-born British journalist, author and columnist, countered Malone by stating that she finds it extraordinary that Britain has disengaged when the topic of reparations comes up, though the Royals benefitted from the slave trade.

“After the first World War, Germany was absolutely forced to pay reparations, and they are still paying off. Japan was made to pay huge reparations bills but somehow Britain when called up on to at least make a gesture, the Royals benefitted hugely, I find it so extraordinary that’s when you disengage,” Alibhai-Brown said.

She said that the Windrush scandal could have also played a part in the ire being expressed by many Jamaicans today.

“I think Jamaica wouldn’t have been this exorcised — because they have been fond of the royals — without the Windrush scandal. That really shocked them,” she said.

The Windrush scandal erupted around four years ago after the Guardian newspaper reported that some people who came to the UK from the Caribbean in the decades after World War II had been refused medical care in Britain or threatened with deportation because they could not produce paperwork proving their right to reside in the country

.

READ: UK minister resigns over Windrush scandal

Since the announcement of the Royal tour of the Caribbean, there have been much protest resulting in the Duke and Duchess having to cancel their trip in Belize before coming to Jamaica where they were also met with opposition.

During the debate, Malone continued by stating that an apology for the slave trade from the Royals would only be an empty gesture.

To which Alibhai-Brown responded, “We know that the effects of slavery are still playing out among black Americans and in the Caribbean. It isn’t over for them.”