The Archbishop of Canterbury has issued a public statement after discovering an ancestor's connection to the slave trade in the Caribbean. 

Archbishop Justin Welby uncovered a connection to slavery in Jamaica and Tobago through his biological father, the late Sir Anthony Montague Browne. 

Archbishop Welby only discovered in 2016 that Sir Anthony, a private secretary to Winston Churchill, was his biological father and not Gavin Welby, the man married to his mother and whom he believed to be his father. Gavin Welby died in 1977 when the Archbishop was 21.

The Archbishop disclosed the discovery in a statement: "I have recently discovered that my biological father, the late Sir Anthony Montague Browne, had an ancestral connection to the enslavement of people in Jamaica and Tobago," he said. 

"His great, great grandfather was Sir James Fergusson, an owner of enslaved people at the Rozelle Plantation in St Thomas, Jamaica."

He talked about the impact of travelling to Jamaica where he learned more about the slave trade there. He said he wanted to see "healing, justice and repair".

"My recent trip to Jamaica has helped me to confront the legacies of enslavement in the Caribbean and the responsibility owed to those who still suffer from the effects of this evil trade. I thank those who have given their time to such tireless research in this field, many of whom are descendants of enslaved people," he continued.

"I reiterate the Church Commissioners' commitment to a thorough and accurate research programme, in the knowledge that archives have far more to tell us about what has come before us – often in a very personal way.

"I give thanks to God for this journey towards healing, justice and repair, as we take the path that Jesus Christ calls us to walk."