The UK should remember that it was responsible for bringing slavery, and the racisim that accompanied it, to the U.S., the former mayor of London told CGTN.

Ken Livingstone was speaking amid a wave of protests about racial inequalities that have traveled in the other direction, beginning in the American city of Minneapolis before crossing the Atlantic to Europe.

As the national government, local councils and institutions announce reviews into historical monuments, he urged Britons to be mindful of their country's global role in enslaving millions.

Referencing statues of colonial-era slave owners and imperialists, some of which have been taken down while others remain, Livingstone said "the appalling thing about all this now, because this has become a global movement with protests all over the world: Britain helped create the United States of America. It was our colony. We imported millions of slaves that we kidnapped from Africa. Britain created that environment of racism in America."

Livingstone was speaking to CGTN Europe on the third anniversary of the Grenfell Tower fire, when 72 people died, many from BAME backgrounds. The anniversary of the tragedy has contributed to the discussion over how Britain treats ethnic minorities in the present and the past. 

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Livingstone said that his successor as mayor, Boris Johnson, who is now UK Prime Minister, and his government must be pushed to "make the changes we need to make now to tackle the racism of our past."

Protesters across the UK have held demonstrations in solidarity with US protesters who are in their fourth week of rallies, sparked by the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis on 25 May. 

British activists have demanded justice for BAME people killed in police custody and the teaching of Britain's colonial past, including its crimes, under the slogan 'decolonise the curriculum.' 

"We need governments that are prepared to make sure in our schools as kids are growing up, they learn the truth about our past," added Livingstone. 

The former mayor, who ran London from 2000 till 2008, both as an independent and as the candidate for the Labour Party, has had his own issues with allegations of discrimination. In 2016 he was suspended from Labour and subsequently resigned from Labour following remarks he made about Hitler and the Jewish people.

Britain, alongside other European powers, was heavily involved in the slave trade for around 200 years enslaving and transporting estimated 3.1 million African people, of whom 2.7 million arrived in their colonies in the Americas. 

READ MORE: Black Lives Matter protests reignite focus on Britain's slave trading past

The trade was hugely profitable for Britain, boosting the development of cities including London, Liverpool and Bristol. 

In the early 19th century the trade was outlawed in the British Empire following years of campaigning from abolitionists. 

Video Editor: Sam Cordell