Keir Starmer has agreed to future talks on reparations for Britain’s role in the slave trade – but insisted the UK won’t pay compensation.
Commonwealth leaders signed off a joint statement yesterday(SAT) after hours of talks, which made reference to “reparatory justice” for countries that suffered from slavery and colonialism.
It comes as a blow to the UK, which had been pushing to keep reparations off the agenda at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Samoa.
The Prime Minister, who jetted into the Pacific island on Thursday, has been dogged by calls to give a formal apology for slavery and discuss financial compensation.
He told a press conference: “Let me first be clear that the slave trade, slave practice, was abhorrent, and it’s very important that we start from there.”
Mr Starmer said the threat of climate change had been dominating conversations at the summit in Samoa but accepted there were strong feelings about reparations.
He went on: “There is the paragraph in the communique about reparatory justice, which does two things.
“It notes calls for discussion and it agrees that this is the time for conversation.
“But I should be really clear here, in the two days we’ve been here, none of the discussions have been about money.
“Our position is very, very clear in relation to that.”
The PM said the issue could be looked at during a UK-Caribbean summit next year, led by Foreign Minister Secretary David Lammy.
Despite No10 saying the issue was not on the agenda at the summit, Mr Starmer used his speech to say he understood the “strength of feeling”.
But he said he wanted to be “looking forward not back”.