The SORRIEST is a compilation of high-profile apologies made over the past one hundred years. These open letters and speeches were written and delivered by public figures including industrialist Henry Ford; US presidents Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush; Queen Elizabeth II and King Charles III of England; Pope John Paul II; British Prime Ministers Tony Blair, David Cameron, Theresa May and Boris Johnston, Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, and Justin Trudeau, who made at least ten official and personal apologies over the course of his tenure as Canadian Prime Minister. The compiled speech echoes the tonal rhythms of Tony Blair’s response to the incriminating findings in the Iraq War Inquiry of 2016, a nearly two-hour defence. 

The SORRIEST considers what the role of the public apology, a carefully written and performed monologue, can be in society. An atonement, made by an appointed representative, can come generations after the event. One absurd example saw Pope John Paul II apologise to the Archbishop of Athens for the Crusaders' Sacking of Constantinople in 1204, eight hundred years later. At a time of increasing censorship of dissenting voices on one hand, and the erosion of international human rights laws on the other, can a political apology ever be sufficient to garner public forgiveness after a crime has already been carried out? Or are state powers simply following the old adage that it is much easier to ask for forgiveness than to get permission?

It is ten years on from Tony Blair’s infamous apology, and he is back in public life, and poised to oversee a ‘peaceful transition of power’ in Gaza. It might actually be crucial that we take notice when he says: Today is the right moment to go back and look at the history of that time so that those, even if they passionately disagree, will understand my reasons and motives; and to learn lessons so that we do better in future.