I'm So Sorry Why have apologies for past misdeeds become politically fashionable? Tony Blair has apologised for the Irish famine, but stopped short and instead merely expressed regret about the slave trade. The Queen has apologised to New Zealand's Maoris and Pope John Paul II said he was sorry for the Crusades. Kenan Malik considers whether people today really bear responsibility for the crimes of their ancestors, and who can say sorry on behalf of others. [Rptd Sun 9.30pm].