Henry completes draft petition to take Queen to Privy Council over slavery

Reparations advocate and Member of Parliament for Central Clarendon, Mike Henry, says he has completed a draft of a petition he plans to pursue all the way to the Privy Council against British Monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, in relation to slavery and the demand for reparation.

The petition is to go to the Attorney General for legal advice.

Henry, who is also the Minister of Transport and Mining, was speaking today at a press conference organised by the Centre for Reparation Research at the University of the West Indies.

Speaking in his personal capacity, Henry disclosed that he has retained the services of a law firm in Britain to help him bring his case.

He says he was provided with legal advice on how to pursue the matter from the law firm two days ago.

Henry describes slavery and the slave trade as an economic crime arguing that The Queen should be made to answer for the role Britain played in the travesty.

Acknowledging that it will be an uphill battle to bring the petition, he says he's prepared to do all he can to get the matter before the Privy Council.

He's appealing to Jamaican Government to show the political will to back the fight for reparations.

Addressing concerns about the possibility of bringing a case against The Queen, human rights attorney, Lord Anthony Gifford, who was also at the press conference, argued that Britain’s Judicial Committee Act, which establishes the Privy Council makes provision for such a case to be heard.