Apology for slave trade ‘not on the agenda’, says No 10 as Commonwealth leaders set to defy Sir Keir Starmer
Apologising for the UK’s role in the slave trade is “not on the agenda,” Downing Street has said amid the row engulfing the Commonwealth summit.
The prime minister has called the transatlantic slave trade “abhorrent” but ruled out reparations as he said countries affected would rather the UK help them with current issues, such as the impact of climate change.
However, as the biennial Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) begins in Samoa tomorrow, Sky News has learned that Commonwealth leaders will agree plans to look at reparations for the slave trade, in defiance of Sir Keir Starmer.
Officials from some countries are drawing up an agreement to conduct further research and begin a “meaningful conversation”.
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It could leave the UK owing billions of pounds in reparations, which are usually defined as payments paid by a country for damage or losses caused to other countries or their people.
But asked again about reparations in light of the mounting pressure, Sir Keir Starmer’s official spokesperson said: “Our position on reparations is clear and remains unchanged.
“We should be facing forward and should be focusing on working with the Commonwealth on the shared issues at the current time. Likewise, suggestions forms of reparatory justice is not something I recognise.”
Pressed again on whether an apology could be offered, the spokesperson repeated it was “not on the agenda”.
At the end of the Commonwealth summit, the 55 leaders will agree a “communique”, which explains what was discussed and summarises decisions on specific issues.
Some leaders are understood to want to include slavery reparations in the communique, with a draft version saying leaders “agreed that the time has come for a meaningful, truthful and respectful conversation towards forging a common future based on equity”, according to the BBC.
Other leaders want a separate declaration demanding reparatory justice, which the UK and some countries are unlikely to sign.
This would be the worst-case scenario for the UK as leaders would have to vote on it, risking a split in the Commonwealth.
The PM with Samoan Prime Minister Afioga Fiame Naomi Mata’afa (centre). Pic: PA
As well as payments, reparatory justice could also take the form of debt relief, an official apology, educational programmes, economic support, public health assistance and building museums.
A source told Sky News’ political editor Beth Rigby Sir Keir’s refusal to put reparations on the agenda has agitated some leaders and it looks like no matter what he wants, the issue will be in the final communique.
Bahamas Prime Minister Philip Davis has said he wants reparatory justice mentioned in the communique and will try to have a “frank” conversation with Sir Keir.
“It’s not just about an apology,” he told Politico.
“It’s not about money, it’s about an appreciation and embracing and understanding of what our ancestors went through, that has left a scourge on our race, culturally, mentally and physically.”
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King Charles and Queen Camilla with members of a cricket team during a visit to the Samoan Cultural Village in Apia.
Pic: PA
He is hoping to speak directly to Sir Keir, who he called “a fair-minded just individual”, on Saturday when there will be a six-hour leaders’ retreat with no aides, leaving them to speak more freely.
The two leaders are familiar to each other, having each represented defendants in a legal case in 2003 that led to the mandatory death penalty being abolished in the Bahamas.
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What do Samoans think of King Charles?
King Charles and Queen Camilla are also in Samoa where the king will address the summit following a trip to Australia where they faced protests and accusations of stealing Aboriginal land and committing “genocide against our people”.
Their arrival in Samoa has been smoother, with the King being declared a “high chief” of the Pacific island and presented with a whole pig.
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When Nigel Farage’s Reform UK is just one point behind you in the opinion polls, the last thing you want to be reminded about is Brexit.
If you’re Sir Keir Starmer, that is.
No doubt Poland’s prime minister, Donald Tusk, was trying to be friendly. After all, as Sir Keir said, they share a passion for Arsenal Football Club.
But when Mr Tusk declared at their joint news conference in Warsaw that his dream was “instead of a Brexit, we will have a Breturn”, Sir Keir visibly cringed.
Was it an ambush? Not quite. But it was certainly awkward for the UK prime minister. He stood stiffly and didn’t respond, not once uttering the word “Brexit”.
Mr Tusk, however, has form for bemoaning Brexit. He was, after all, the president of the European Council when the UK voted to leave the EU in 2016.
He might now be in his second spell as Poland’s PM, but his five years at the EU make him the ultimate Brussels insider, who’s never made any attempt to hide his feelings on Brexit.
Prior to the UK referendum, in September 2015, he said Brexit “could be the beginning of the destruction of not only the EU but also of western political civilisation in its entirety”.
His most outspoken attack on the UK’s Eurosceptics came in 2019 when the-then prime minister Theresa May was struggling to get a deal. He spoke of “what the special place in hell looks like for those who promoted Brexit“.
Sir Keir also visited Ukraine on his trip to Eastern Europe. Pic: PA
Standing alongside Sir Keir, he revealed that “for obvious reasons” they discussed co-operation between the UK and the EU. He recalled that his emotional reaction to the referendum in 2016 was “I already miss you”.
He went on: “This is not just about emotions and sentiments – I am aware this is a dream of mine, that instead of a Brexit we will have a Breturn.
“Perhaps I’m labouring under an illusion. I’d rather be an optimist and harbour these dreams in my heart – sometimes they come true in politics.”
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A dream? Or a calculated move? As a Brussels insider, was Mr Tusk speaking for the EU as a whole? Was he doing Brussels’ bidding?
He may have returned to lead his homeland, but he remains a key player in Brussels.
On becoming Poland’s PM in 2023, he ended a dispute with Brussels which unlocked billions of frozen EU funds for his country.
He also orchestrated the return of his centre-right ally Ursula von der Leyen as European Commission president.
And Poland has just taken over the rotating presidency of the EU, which means Mr Tusk will be hugely influential once again, chairing meetings and setting agendas.
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Poland is back in the European mainstream. It’s where Mr Tusk would like the UK to be as well.
It’s where, privately, Sir Keir would like the UK to be. It’s just that with Reform UK almost neck and neck with Labour in the polls, he daren’t say so.
Poland’s prime minister has said he hopes for the “Breturn” of the UK as a member of the European Union – as he discussed a defence treaty with Sir Keir Starmer.
Donald Tusk, who was hosting the prime minister for discussions on a UK-Polish defence pact in Warsaw, said it was his “dream” that “instead of a Brexit, we will have a Breturn”.
Standing alongside Sir Keir at a joint news conference, the Polish premier also said he had discussed greater cooperation between the UK and the EU.
Mr Tusk, who was the president of the European Council during the years that Britain left the EU, said: “For obvious reasons, we also discussed another issue, the cooperation between Great Britain and the European Union.
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“I’m sure you will recall when we learned about the results of the Brexit referendum. I was head of the European Council… at that time. My first emotional reaction was to say: ‘I already miss you.’
“I remember our press briefings as if it was yesterday. I already miss you, that’s what I said.”
He added: “This is not just about emotions and sentiments – I am aware this is a dream of mine, that instead of a Brexit we will have a Breturn.
“Perhaps I’m labouring under an illusion. I’d rather be an optimist and harbour these dreams in my heart – sometimes they come true in politics.”
Sir Keir, who held the role of shadow Brexit secretary while Labour was in opposition and backed remain in the 2016 referendum, has repeatedly ruled out rejoining the customs union or single market.
He has, however, said he wants to deepen post-Brexit ties with Brussels
Mr Tusk was speaking after Sir Keir travelled to Poland to discuss a defence pact with the NATO ally – which Mr Tusk said he hoped would be ratified “this year”.
The new treaty is designed to protect Europe from Russian aggression, tackle people-smuggling gangs, and combat misinformation and cyber threats.
Sir Keir was also asked whether the UK’s attendance at a defence summit in Poland earlier this week meant he was in favour of “creating an army” for Europe – to which he replied he was not.
Asked about the E5 defence ministers meeting in Warsaw and whether he supported creating a common European army, Sir Keir said: “The meeting that happened the other day is vitally important. That isn’t about creating armies.
“It’s about how we share our security concerns and build on what we’ve already got.”
Sir Keir Starmer and his wife Victoria Starmer visit the Memorial And Museum Auschwitz-Birkenau. Pic: Reuters
As part of the defence pact, a £4bn partnership for new air defence systems in Poland has been agreed. The project will be headquartered in Bristol.
“The UK has secured £8bn of defence deals in Poland over the last three years alone, and we’re going further today, opening a new joint programme office in Bristol to deliver our £4bn partnership, to deliver the next generation of air defence systems to Poland,” he said.
He added: “We share an unbreakable commitment to NATO and an unbreakable commitment to Ukraine.”
During his visit to Poland, Sir Keir also made his first visit to Auschwitz, which he described as “utterly harrowing”.
The prime minister visited the former Nazi concentration camp, where he laid a wreath ahead of the 80th anniversary of its liberation.
After he and his wife Victoria, who is Jewish, visited the site, Sir Keir said: “Nothing could prepare me for the sheer horror of what I have seen in this place. It is utterly harrowing.
“The mounds of hair, the shoes, the suitcases, the names and details, everything that was so meticulously kept, except for human life.”
Sir Keir Starmer and his wife Victoria Starmer visit the Memorial And Museum Auschwitz-Birkenau. Pic: Reuters
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His visit to Poland came following a surprise trip to Kyiv on Thursday, where he reiterated his support for Ukraine and suggested that British troops could be deployed to the country as part of peacekeeping efforts.
In an exclusive interview with Sky News’ political editor Beth Rigby, Sir Keir said the UK would play its “full part” in any peace negotiations – including by deploying British troops for peacekeeping – though added that he did not want “to get ahead of ourselves”.
During his visit, Sir Keir also met Polish businesses, including the firm InPost which has announced it will invest a further £600m into the UK in the next five years to grow its operations.
It is thought that the overall £1bn investment by the firm, which operates parcel lockers, could support up to 12,000 new jobs.
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