London is still ruling out paying reparations or apologising for the UK’s role in the transatlantic slave trade

British PM Starmer is under pressure from Caribbean countries at Commonwealth talks but is refusing payments or apology, ‘The Guardian’ writes.

Keir Starmer has opened the door to non-financial reparations for the UK’s role in the transatlantic enslavement, as he came under pressure from Commonwealth leaders to engage in a “meaningful, truthful and respectful” conversation about Britain’s past.

While Downing Street insists that the wider issue of reparations is “not on the agenda” of Commonwealth heads of government (Chogm) gathering in Samoa, No 10 has accepted it is likely to be referenced in the end-of-summit communique.

Caribbean countries in particular have been pushing for the issue to be discussed at the summit, with some arguing that continued resistance from the UK to even begin a conversation about the issue was not sustainable.

While No 10 is still ruling out paying reparations or apologising for the UK’s role in the transatlantic slave trade, a Downing Street source indicated that the UK could support some forms of reparatory justice, such as restructuring financial institutions and providing debt relief.

Other proposed forms of restorative justice include making a formal apology, running educational programmes, establishing cultural institutions and providing economic and public health support.

However, Downing Street has ruled out an immediate apology. Starmer told the BBC: “Our generation can say the slave trade and the practice was abhorrent and we should talk about our history. We can’t change our history but we should certainly talk about our history.”

Pressed on whether the UK should apologise or pay reparations, the prime minister said: “An apology has already been made in relation to the slave trade, and that’s not surprising.”

But he insisted that Commonwealth countries wanted to talk about challenges for the future including climate finance and international trade.

Responding to Starmer’s decision to discuss “non-financial” reparations, the St Vincent and the Grenadines prime minister, Ralph Gonsalves – who was one of the founding leaders of the current reparations committee – stressed the importance of a reparative justice plan that addressed the enduring psychological and socioeconomic impact of slavery.

Arguing that the British had committed genocide against and traumatised both the Indigenous people and enslaved Africans in SVG, he added that while enslavers were compensated with millions at abolition, nothing was given to those who had been enslaved and oppressed.

“There was nothing for them to start with and build on – no land, no money, no training, no education,” he said. This damaging legacy of enslavement and oppression, he added, has continued to plague Caribbean nations.

Meanwhile, the Bahamas prime minister, Philip Davis, said it was time for the Commonwealth to seek “justice” for the brutal history of slavery, as Britain’s former colonies demanded to discuss reparations with King Charles at a key summit on Friday.

A draft of the Chogm communique leaked to the BBC said that governments, “noting calls for discussions on reparatory justice with regard to the transatlantic trade in enslaved Africans and chattel enslavement … agreed that the time has come for a meaningful, truthful and respectful conversation towards forging a common future based on equity.”

According to the broadcaster, the communique sought to broaden the issue to include the enslavement not just across the Atlantic but in the Pacific, by saying that a majority of Commonwealth countries “share common historical experiences”.

It mentioned the practice of “blackbirding”, where Pacific islanders were kidnapped and brought to Australia where they were sold as enslaved people or cheap labour to work on plantations in Queensland. In 2021, Jack Dempsey, the then mayor of Bundaberg in Queensland, issued a formal apology for blackbirding.

Frederick Mitchell, the foreign minister of the Bahamas, said a small section about the subject was under discussion for potential inclusion in the communique.

Starmer, who arrived in the Samoan capital, Apia, on Thursday, will want to avoid any row over reparations marring a summit already lacking a series of Commonwealth leaders, including India’s Narendra Modi and South Africa’s Cyril Ramaphosa, who have instead chosen to attend a gathering in Russia hosted by Vladimir Putin.

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