SEO HEADLINE: Green Party Reparations Campaigner Linked to Slave-Trading Ancestry TWO WORD TEASE: Political Controversy A Green Party candidate campaigning for Britain to pay trillions in slavery reparations has been revealed to descend from a Nigerian royal family involved in slave trading. Antoinette Fernandez, the reparations officer for the party’s Global Majority Greens group, is standing in the Lea Bridge ward, Hackney, east London. Her campaign calls for British taxpayers to fund reparations for the transatlantic slave trade, sparking debate over her own family history.
Nigerian Royal Slave Traders
Ms Fernandez is the daughter of Abiola Dosunmu, the Queen Mother of Lagos, whose ancestors—known as the Obas of Lagos—were significant slave traders. Historical records indicate that one ancestor owned 1,400 slaves, while another imported enslaved people from Brazil for local projects in Lagos. Wealth from the trade reportedly funded luxurious royal lifestyles.
Privileged Background Exposed
Besides her royal lineage, Ms Fernandez is also the daughter of the late Antonio Deinde Fernandez, an oil and mining billionaire who amassed an $8.7 billion fortune and served as a UN ambassador. She was educated at the exclusive Millfield School in Somerset, with annual fees over £60,000. She has described her upbringing as “privileged.”
Political Backlash
Revelations about her ancestry have drawn sharp criticism. Reform UK’s London mayoral candidate, Laila Cunningham, labelled Ms Fernandez “the ultimate hypocrite” for demanding slave reparations while benefiting from a wealthy background. Conservative chairman Kevin Hollinrake said her candidacy fits a pattern of “hard-Left activism” engulfing the Greens, dismissing the party as “not a serious political force.”
Green Party Defends Activist
The Green Party condemned criticism of Ms Fernandez’s lineage as “racist” and an attempt to undermine reparative justice efforts. The debate follows a recent UN vote urging former colonial powers to pay reparations for slavery, with estimates of costs reaching up to £18 trillion. Ms Fernandez emphasised the need for Britain and the US to recognise the historic crimes and their ongoing impacts.
Campaign Context
Britain abolished the slave trade in 1807 and later invested in its suppression globally. Ms Fernandez, who previously stood in the 2024 general election and ran for Green deputy leadership in 2025, remains a prominent voice for reparations despite the controversy surrounding her heritage.
