Bridport Town Council is urging South Dorset MP Richard Drax to 'do the right thing' and pay reparation to the people of Barbados, where his family was slaveholders for 200 years.

Stand Up To Racism has issued an open letter calling for reparation of the Drax Hall Estate in Barbados, currently under the ownership of Mr Drax, to the people of Barbados.

Bridport town councillor Rose Allwork brought forward the motion to the council to sign the letter and call on Mr Drax to acknowledge, and apologise for, the historical role of his family in the transatlantic slave trade and to enter into a constructive discussion with the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Reparations Commission on the subject of reparation.

She said: "The Drax family was not only involved in the slave trade… but a Drax family ancestor was one of those instrumental in setting up the transatlantic slave trade. They brought the first African slaves into the Caribbean.

"Mr Drax had acknowledged his family's involvement in the slave trade; however, he denies any current responsibility for the actions of his ancestors."

Cllr Ros Kayes said she felt very strongly about this.

"It's morally abhorrent to be living off the blood of people who were tortured and abused," she said. "It seems to me absolutely unreal that somebody could be so greedy and careless of the impact they have had on the lives of others over centuries - it's not just the original people who were transported, it's the families who are left behind and the descendants of.

"I think it's our role as councillors always to highlight moral efficiencies like this.

"I know some people might say, 'why do we have to be signatories to a letter, it's not relevant that Bridport should be standing in judgement over something that's going on at the other end of Dorset'. That might be a relevant thing to say if we were a Birmingham council or a council in Wales, but we are a council in Dorset.

"I think it's incumbent on us to shame Richard Drax into some form of action and whether he decides to give the whole plantation concerned or whether he decides to set up a trust fund for people who have been impacted by his exploitation of the workers on the plantation - that's for him to decide with the reparations committee - but I think he should stand up and be counted rather than living off wealth generated by others."

Cllr Anne Rickard said that as a Rights Respecting town it is something the council "must do, would want to do and has to do".

The letter has received hundreds of local signatures but the group has yet to have a reply from Richard Drax.

A spokesman for the group said: "This is not surprising, when asked previously about his family's involvement with the slave trade Drax has said that he 'chooses to ignore it' and cannot be held responsible 'for something that happened 300 or 400 years ago'.

Sir Hilary Beckles, chairman of the CARICOM Reparations Commission contests this response by Drax.

He said: "The Drax family has done more harm and violence to the black people of Barbados than any other family. The Draxes built and designed and structured slavery… Richard Drax should apologise to African people and the people of the Caribbean and show remorse and participate in reparatory justice."

Henrietta Nicolet, of Stand Up To Racism Dorset, said: "We agree with Sir Hilary Beckles. Richard Drax can no longer ignore the cruel history which has produced his family's wealth.

"The backing of Bridport Town Council is an important development - it sets a precedent for local councils to follow, bringing the notion of reparations into political discussion in Dorset.

"The Black Lives Matter movement has highlighted that racism is a systemic problem - one that requires a systemic solution.

"Reparations are one part of that solution. We urge Richard Drax to do the honourable thing by taking moral leadership and returning the Drax Hall Estate."

Mr Drax has been contacted for a comment.

The open letter to Richard Drax

The enslavement of Africans in the Caribbean has a living legacy – the time for justice is now

The CARICOM Reparations Commission (CRC) is comprised of 12 member states in the Caribbean region. It is calling for reparations for genocide and for the enslavement of African people by former colonising powers. It also addresses this call to those who have profited from centuries of slavery.

"It is time to repair the harm and suffering that have resulted from crimes committed against enslaved and indentured peoples," says the Commission: "This is a time for moral leadership. This is the moment of reparatory justice."

We join forces with the CRC in their demand for reparations and ask you to address this call.

The Drax family is prominent among British beneficiaries of transatlantic slavery. Drax Hall Estate in Barbados, still held by your family after more than 350 years, bears testimony to the genocide of Africans and to the trauma, pain and suffering of generations of African slaves and their descendants all over the world.

Professor Sir Hilary Beckles, Chair of the CRC, says: "Black life mattered only to make millionaires of English enslavers and the Drax family did it longer than any other elite family." He adds: "The Drax family has done more harm and violence to the black people of Barbados than any other family. The Draxes built and designed and structured slavery."

It was one of your ancestors, James Drax, who pioneered the use of African slaves rather than white indentured servants to cultivate sugar. The use of African slaves for sugar cultivation and production yielded high profits and was immensely lucrative for plantation owners. This model was rolled out across the Caribbean and the Americas.

Your own wealth, Mr Drax, including your estate in Dorset today, is witness to this legacy of the enslavement of Africans in the Caribbean. Black Lives Matter – then and now.

The time to effect reparatory justice is now, starting with the return of Drax Hall Estate in Barbados to the people of that nation, for the benefit of Barbadians and the people of the Caribbean region. This would represent a significant step in truly acknowledging the harm caused by the enslavement of Africans of which you and your family are direct beneficiaries. It will also be a significant recognition of the economic inequality between the Caribbean region and Britain: a direct consequence of the enslavement of Africans for the cultivation of sugar.

We, your constituents in South Dorset, together with elected representatives in the county, and community organisations, trade unions, political parties, faith groups and others ask you to make reparations to the people of the Caribbean region, without delay.