Sir Keir Starmer has downplayed the prominence of reparations for slavery being addressed at a Commonwealth summit, saying “none of the discussions have been about money”.
The prime minister, who is in Samoa for the Commonwealth heads of government meeting (Chogm), has been facing mounting pressure from leaders of Caribbean nations who want the UK to consider paying reparations for the impact of the transatlantic slave trade.
They are seeking a formal apology from the countries responsible for the historic slavery.
The UK government has repeatedly ruled out offering reparations or an apology for the country’s historical involvement in the trade.
But after an eight-hour meeting, the 56 Commonwealth leaders have included a call for a discussion on reparations in the Chogm’s communique.
A paragraph included in the 16-page document says the heads “noted calls for discussions on reparatory justice” with regards to slavery and “agreed that the time has come for a meaningful, truthful and respectful conversation towards forging a common future based on equity”.
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Speaking at a news conference on Saturday, Sir Keir started by repeating earlier comments in which he called the slave trade “abhorrent”.
“We’ve actually had a very positive two days here in Samoa,” he continued, saying the communique’s dominant themes were “resilience and climate”.
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“So I think that gives you a clear sense of the absolute priority here,” he said. “And that’s not surprising. You’ve spent some time here. You’ll see just how vulnerable this island and similar islands are, to climate change. It is of paramount importance.”
Image: The PM at the Chogm gathering. Pic: Reuters
Sir Keir said there was “one paragraph in 20-something paragraphs” about reparations.
“There is… the paragraph in the communique about reparatory justice, which does two things,” he said.
“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. And obviously, this is quite a long communique. It’s one paragraph, I think, in 20-something paragraphs, noting the call for discussion, agreeing a time for conversations.
“And that’s all that’s in the communique.”
He added the next discussions on reparations would be at the UK/Caribbean Forum next year, a foreign secretary level meeting.
Reparations are usually defined as payments made by a country for damage or losses caused to other nations or their people.
There are various estimates for what the UK would owe, but last year a report co-authored by a United Nations judge concluded the UK owed more than £18trn to 14 countries.
The Chinese owner of British Steel has held fresh talks with government officials in a bid to break the impasse over ministers’ determination not to compensate it for seizing control of the company.
Sky News has learnt that executives from Jingye Group met senior civil servants from the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) late last week to discuss ways to resolve the standoff.
Whitehall sources said the talks had been cordial, but that no meaningful progress had been made towards a resolution.
Jingye wants the government to agree to pay it hundreds of millions of pounds for taking control of British Steel in April – a move triggered by the Chinese group’s preparations for the permanent closure of its blast furnaces in Scunthorpe.
Such a move would have cost thousands of jobs and ended Britain’s centuries-old ability to produce virgin steel.
Jingye had been in talks for months to seek £1bn in state aid to facilitate the Scunthorpe plant’s transition to greener steelmaking, but was offered just half that sum by ministers.
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British Steel has not yet been formally nationalised, although that remains a probable outcome.
Jonathan Reynolds, the business secretary, has previously dismissed the idea of compensating Jingye, saying British Steel’s equity was essentially worthless.
Last month, he met his Chinese counterpart, where the issue of British Steel was discussed between the two governments in person for the first time.
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Inside the UK’s last blast furnaces
Jingye has hired the leading City law firm Linklaters to explore the recovery of hundreds of millions of pounds it invested in the Scunthorpe-based company before the government seized control of it.
News of last week’s meeting comes as British steelmakers face an anxious wait to learn whether their exports to the US face swingeing tariffs as part of US President Donald Trump’s trade war.
Sky News’s economics and data editor, Ed Conway, revealed this week that the UK would miss a White House-imposed deadline to agree a trade deal on steel and aluminium this week.
Jingye declined to comment, while a spokesman for the Department for Business and Trade said: “We acted quickly to ensure the continued operations of the blast furnaces but recognise that securing British Steel’s long-term future requires private sector investment.
“We have not nationalised British Steel and are working closely with Jingye on options for the future, and we will continue work on determining the best long-term sustainable future for the site.”