Commonwealth leaders to defy Sir Keir Starmer as they agree to look at slave trade reparations
Commonwealth leaders will agree plans to look at reparations for the slave trade, in defiance of Sir Keir Starmer.
The UK prime minister 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.
His spokesman earlier this week said: “The government’s position on this has not changed – we do not pay reparations.”
However, as the biennial Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) begins in Samoa tomorrow, Sky News has learned officials from some countries are drawing up an agreement to conduct further research and begin a “meaningful conversation”.
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.
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At the end of the 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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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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Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has said she is “rebuilding” the party as she marks her first year in the job.
Ms Badenoch also said she had spent the last 12 months “giving the country a serious alternative to Labour’s weakness: a plan for a stronger economy and stronger borders”.
The leader, who was elected on 2 November last year when she defeated Robert Jenrick, said on Sunday she was “rebuilding our party, our principles and our plan for Britain”.
She came to the helm after a leadership contest, triggered by Rishi Sunak’s resignation in the wake of the 2024 general election drubbing.
Pic: PA
But despite starting to craft a new Tory policy platform, she has been criticised by anonymous MPs who are disappointed the Conservatives do not appear to be cutting through with voters.
And she has seen some senior party figures defect to Reform UK, including ex-Conservative chairman Jake Berry, former Welsh secretary David Jones, and Tory MP Danny Kruger.
Ms Badenoch also continues to face the challenge of ambitious frontbenchers who appear to be plotting potential future leadership bids, including shadow justice secretary Mr Jenrick.
Despite her insistence that the party is providing a credible alternative to the Labour government, the latest polling from YouGov suggested voters are yet to be convinced by Ms Badenoch, with just 12% believing she is a prime minister in waiting, while 62% do not.
But Ms Badenoch appeared adamant in her approach as she faced down the critics.
She said: “This first year of my leadership has been about rebuilding. Rebuilding our party, our principles and our plan for Britain.
“After defeat in 2024, we faced a choice: retreat into slogans, or rebuild around values. We chose to rebuild.
“The Conservative Party now stands once again for what made Britain strong in the first place – responsibility, fairness, competence and pride in our nation.”
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A majority of Conservative members, 54%, do believe she is doing a good job as party leader, while 24% say she has done a bad job, the YouGov survey found.
Pollsters have also suggested the Tories are less popular than the Liberal Democrats, as Nigel Farage’s Reform UK continues to lead with the public.
In May, the Conservatives suffered heavy defeats in the local elections, as Ms Badenoch apologised to her party over the result.
In October at her first Conservative party conference as leader, she made the surprise announcement the Tories would scrap stamp duty, a tax paid by house buyers, on the purchase of their main homes.
It gave the Conservatives and their leader a much-needed lift after what many have dubbed the lost year.
But backbench Tories could soon hold Ms Badenoch’s future in their hands, as a grace period stopping them from submitting letters expressing no confidence in her expires once her first year in office is complete.
Bob Blackman, who as chairman of the 1922 Committee acts as a conduit for Conservative backbenchers, said he believed Ms Badenoch’s slow and steady approach had been the correct one.
However, Labour said that “one year in, Kemi Badenoch’s Conservatives have shown themselves incapable of change or learning lessons from the past”.
Party chairwoman Anna Turley said: “They crashed the economy, sent mortgages rocketing and left NHS waiting lists at record highs.”
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