The "British habit", as Kris Manjapra says, is indeed to "externalise the problem of slavery", but is it not traditional policy of recent governments to externalise everything of the past which does not show the country and its politicians in a favourable light (When will Britain face up to its crimes against humanity? 29/03/18)? Resisting "calls for reparations for slavery" comes naturally to an Establishment determined to mythologise its history. Does anyone believe such inhuman treatment of slaves as delivered by the British slave owner, Thomas Thistlewood, was not continued into the 20th century, with Britain maintaining control of its colonies?
Should apologies and acknowledgement of guilt take place, the very history which British governments have been hiding from the public, either by destroying evidence through Operation Legacy, or by secreting 1.2m historical files in Hanslope Park, would be revealed. The many court cases, such as the ones in 2013 on behalf of 44,000 Kenyans claiming compensation after the brutal tactics employed by the British in crushing the Mau Mau rebellion in the 1950s, would reveal a history very different from the traditional and heroic one the British people are taught to believe.
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