Church of England faces legal challenge over slavery compensation fund plan

The Church of England has affirmed a moral duty to address its historical ties to the transatlantic slave trade, as its £100 million compensation plan faces a legal challenge from MPs and Lords.

• The Church of England confirmed it has a "moral duty" to address its historical links to the transatlantic slave trade.
• The Church's plan to create a £100 million "Fund for Healing, Reform and Justice" faces a legal challenge.
• Objecting MPs and Lords argued that church endowment funds should be used for church services and building maintenance, not compensation programmes.

Latest developments

• Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell has defended the £100 million plan as 'reparative justice' at the General Synod in York.
• The Church said staff have received abusive criticism over the initiative.
• The project, named Project Spire, was established in 2023 after research into Queen Anne's Bounty, an endowment fund that invested in the South Sea Company, which profited from the slave trade.