Tony Blair has refused to bow to demands to apologise for Britain's role in the slave trade, expressing instead "deep sorrow and regret" for the suffering it caused.
Britain's first black archbishop, Dr John Sentamu, had earlier joined calls for the Prime Minister to "go a bit further" than such expressions of regret.
But Mr Blair - in a video message recorded for a major event in Ghana to mark the 200th anniversary of Britain passing an abolition law - stopped short of a full apology.
He said the legislation, pushed through Parliament by William Wilberforce, had begun the process of ending "one of the most shameful enterprises in history.
"So it is right that this anniversary is being marked today here in Ghana's Elmina Castle, the scene of such inhuman abuse, and in cities across the UK in Liverpool, Hull, Bristol and London, which played their role in this deplorable trade.
"It is an opportunity for the United Kingdom to express our deep sorrow and regret for our nation's role in the slave trade and for the unbearable suffering, individually and collectively, it caused."
Dr Sentamu, the Archbishop of York, told the BBC he wanted to see Mr Blair give a formal apology.
"I think this should happen," he said. "Britain is our community and this community was involved in a very, very terrible trade. Africa as a community was involved in a very terrible trade, the Church as a community was involved in a terrible trade. It is really important that we own up to what was collectively done."
Meanwhile, an angry protest from members of a black African campaign group greeted a high-profile church ceremony marking 200 years since the abolition of the slave trade in Bristol
But as hundreds of people, inclusing the Duchess of Gloucester, took their seats inside Bristol Cathedral, about 30 members of Operation Truth 2007 gathered outside, carrying placards and chanting "not in our name."
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