Why are Commonwealth leaders asking the UK for reparations?
Calls for the UK to pay slavery reparations have grown louder in recent years.
Soon after the Second World War, former British colonies across Asia, Africa and the Caribbean started gaining their independence.
This independence movement led to some countries demanding financial compensation for all they had suffered under British rule.
More recently, social media, the Black Lives Matter movement, changes in the monarchy, and the challenges posed by climate change have seen the campaign for reparations build momentum.
This week, both the King and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer are in Samoa for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) where they both face renewed calls for reparations.
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King on ‘painful’ Commonwealth past
What are reparations?
In 1661, Barbados became the first British colony to operate under a “slave code”.
This gave Britain the legal right to take people from its colonies in Africa on deadly ship journeys to the Caribbean, where they were treated as property and made to work for no money.
They grew sugar, cotton, and tobacco, among other produce that was then sold for profit, bolstering Britain’s economy and infrastructure.
The Royal Family was also heavily connected to the slave trade.
Slavery was abolished by the UK in 1834, with the British Empire only formally coming to an end with its handing back of Hong Kong to China in 1997.
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Following abolition, the British government paid former slave owners compensation – for loss of “property” – that totalled £20m (the equivalent of £300m today).
No compensation or offer of relocation was offered to the former slaves themselves or their families. This is what Commonwealth countries are asking for now in reparations.
The King and Queen visit a Samoan village. Pic: Reuters
How are the royals involved?
As head of state, British kings and queens were heavily implicated in slavery.
Starting in the 16th century, Elizabeth I sold a ship to one of the country’s biggest slave traders John Hawkins.
Both James I and Charles I granted monopolies on the trade of slaves in Africa to merchants connected with the royals.
In 1663, Charles II founded the Royal African Company, which took more slaves to the Caribbean than any other institution. He also appointed judges to bolster the legal framework for the system – effectively making it a state enterprise.
Successive monarchs then defended slavery and used its power to defend British slave bosses.
Before he became king, William IV, then the Duke of Clarence, boasted of time spent in the Caribbean befriending planters and contracting a sexually transmitted disease. Before the trade was abolished in 1834, he claimed enslaved people were “comparatively in a state of humble happiness”.
Sir Keir Starmer with Samoan Prime Minister Afioga Fiame Naomi Mata’afa (centre). Pic: PA
What is being asked for?
Fifteen Caribbean governments, which form CARICOM (Caribbean Community), have created a 10-point plan for “reparatory justice”.
This includes a formal apology for slavery, a development programme, which helps nations with their economies, increasing difficulties caused by climate change, and to move out of poverty.
It begins: “Over 10 million Africans were stolen from their homes and forcefully transported to the Caribbean as the enslaved chattel and property of European.
“This trade in enchained bodies was a highly successful commercial business for the nations of Europe.
“The lives of millions of men, women and children were destroyed in search of profit. The descendants of these stolen people have a legal right to return to their homeland.
“A repatriation program must be established and all available channels of international law and diplomacy used to resettle those persons who wish to return.”
It argues that “European colonial rule is a persistent part of Caribbean life” and the repercussions are the “primary cause of development failure in the Caribbean”.
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Reparations: How could it work?
Why £205bn?
As the reparations movement has gained pace, experts have tried to put a figure on how much Britain and other former colonial powers should pay.
Earlier this year, Reverend Dr Michael Banner, Dean of Cambridge’s Trinity College, claimed Britain owed £205bn in reparations.
In 2023, a report carried out by an American consultancy firm, the American Society of International Law, and the University of the West Indies, concluded the UK owes 14 countries a total of $24trn (£18.8trn).
The report was led by leading International Court of Justice (ICJ) judge Patrick Robinson.
Some UK institutions have offered reparations for their role in the slave trade – including the Church of England, parts of the NHS in Scotland, and the University of Glasgow.
The King and the prime minister chat in Samoa this week. Pic: PA
What has the UK said?
Both the King and Sir Keir have avoided directly addressing the subject on their trip to Samoa.
In a speech on Thursday, the King said he understood how “the most painful aspects of our past resonate” and how “history [can] guide us to make the right choices in our future”.
He referred to the “wrongs of the past” and said his family would commit to “learning lessons and finding creative ways to right inequalities that endure”.
Previously, he expressed his “profound sorrow” over the slave trade, with his son Prince William describing it as “abhorrent” last year.
Although the royals have failed to go any further – the King has suggested he would support research into his family’s links with slavery.
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Meanwhile, Sir Keir has said reparations are still off the table.
“On the question of which way we’re facing, I think we should be facing forward,” he told reporters.
“I’ve talked to a lot of our Commonwealth colleagues in the Commonwealth family and they’re facing real challenges on things like climate in the here and now.
“And in all the conversations I’ve had with them, what they’re most interested in is can we help them working with international institutions, financial institutions on the sorts of packages they need right now in relation to the challenges they’re facing right now.”
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said his country is “ready to meet” Russian representatives after Vladimir Putin suggested peace talks in Istanbul from Thursday.
Russia‘s president put forward the proposal as European leaders including Sir Keir Starmer threatened him with fresh sanctions if Russia failed to comply with an unconditional 30-day ceasefire starting on Monday.
Reacting to Mr Putin’s suggestion, US President Donald Trump said it was “a potentially great day for Russia and Ukraine” and he would “work with both sides to make sure it happens”.
Mr Zelenskyy has also welcomed the proposal, but reiterated his call for a ceasefire.
He said: “It is a positive sign that the Russians have finally begun to consider ending the war. The entire world has been waiting for this for a very long time. And the very first step in truly ending any war is a ceasefire.
“There is no point in continuing the killing even for a single day. We expect Russia to confirm a ceasefire – full, lasting, and reliable – starting tomorrow, May 12th, and Ukraine is ready to meet.”
On Saturday, the prime minister met the Ukrainian president alongside French President Emmanuel Macron, recently elected German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk in Kyiv.
Announcing the 30-day ceasefire proposal, the leaders said they had secured the backing of Mr Trump after briefing him on the progress made on the so-called “coalition of the willing” plans in a 20-minute phone call.
What Trump does next is crucial
Russian President Vladimir Putin is playing for time and may have been caught on the hop by European leaders, backed by US President Donald Trump, demanding a 30-day ceasefire during their visit to Kyiv yesterday.
Russia’s proposal of talks in Istanbul on Thursday appears hurriedly conceived, announced as it was in the early hours of the morning by Putin.
There is an added symbolism to his suggestion of Istanbul as a venue. Russia has long blamed Ukraine for walking away from peace talks in the same city in 2022.
The key thing is that diplomatic movement of sorts is happening.
Ukraine and its European colleagues want to capitalise on Trump’s renewed enthusiasm for a ceasefire and his potential scepticism of how ready Putin actually is to make peace.
The Europeans will hope this isn’t drawn into a protracted period of negotiations, or simply talking about the idea of negotiations.
What President Trump does next will be crucial.
Speaking at the Kremlin in the early hours of Sunday, Mr Putin did not directly address the proposal but instead offered to restart peace talks Russia and Ukraine held in 2022.
“We propose the Kyiv authorities resume the negotiations they interrupted at the end of 2022… to resume direct negotiations… without any preconditions… to begin without delay next Thursday 15 May in Istanbul,” he said.
Speaking to Sky News Russia correspondent Ivor Bennett after the statement, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Moscow does not “share the view of Starmer”.
“We think that the seriousness is to propose negotiations,” he said, denying the move was a delaying tactic.
Mr Peskov said there had to be negotiations to find a way for a ceasefire, adding: “A simplistic approach to a ceasefire is inappropriate.”
European leaders including Volodymyr Zelenskyy hold call with Donald Trump. Pic: Number 10
Russia’s own unilateral three-day ceasefire, declared for the 80th anniversary of victory over Nazi Germany, expired on Saturday, and Ukraine said Russian forces have repeatedly violated it.
After the summit in Kyiv, Sir Keir said: “All of us here, together with the US, are calling Putin out.
“So we are clear, all five leaders here – all the leaders of the meeting we just had with the coalition of the willing – an unconditional ceasefire, rejecting Putin’s conditions, and clear that if he turns his back on peace, we will respond.
“Working with President Trump, with all our partners, we will ramp up sanctions and increase our military aid for Ukraine’s defence to pressure Russia back to the table.”
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During Mr Putin’s statement on Sunday, he insisted he would support peace talks, adding: “We are committed to serious negotiations with Ukraine.”
He told reporters: “Their purpose is to eliminate the root causes of the conflict, to establish a long-term, lasting peace.
“We do not rule out that during these negotiations it will be possible to agree on some new truces, a new ceasefire.”
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Responding to Mr Putin’s proposal, Mr Macron said the Russian leader was “looking for a way forward, but he still has a desire to buy time”.
Mr Putin’s proposed negotiations are “a first step, but they are not sufficient,” he told French broadcaster BFM.
“An unconditional ceasefire is not preceded by negotiations, by definition.”
World
Terror group supporters posted on TikTok, YouTube and Google from site targeted in Indian airstrikes
Social media accounts expressing support for a Pakistan-based terror group linked to al Qaeda appear to have posted recent videos from a Pakistan mosque targeted by Indian airstrikes.
Sky News has found videos posted on TikTok, YouTube and Google that appear to be filmed at the Markaz Taiba Mosque in Muridke. The captions and usernames contain expressions of support for the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and a group called ‘313’.
Sky News has found and geolocated multiple videos that appear to be filmed in the area where the captions include either or both ‘313’ and LeT.
Some of the videos show men in the streets with guns. Another post captioned a video of children doing martial arts training inside the targeted mosque, “we are little soldiers, and we fight the non-believers”.
The caption of the video reads ‘we are little soldiers, and we fight the non-believers’. It uses the hashtag ‘313’.
The caption uses the hashtag #جہاد313, which translates to ‘313’ jihad.
‘313’ appears to refer to the 313 Brigade, a proscribed terror organisation in Pakistan.
In a TikTok video posted to the Google page for Markaz Taiba Mosque in Muridke, a man can be seen walking along the street with a gun.
The account that posted that video wrote in their description, “Lashkar Taiba, Mujahid Force, ‘313’ and Markaz Taiba Muridke”, self-proclaiming their support for the groups.
This screenshot from the Google user labels Lashkar-e-Taiba and ‘313’ and includes the location name Muridke
India’s retaliatory strikes on Pakistani-adminstered Kashmir and Pakistan on 7 May came after a deadly attack in Indian-administered Kashmir last month.
Gunmen opened fire on tourists, killing 26 people and injuring dozens in a popular holiday spot near Pahalgam, Kashmir, on 22 April.
LeT were accused by India of involvement in the Pahalgam attack through their proxy the Resistance Front, which claimed responsibility for the attack.
LeT, which is designated as a terrorist organisation by the UN Security Council and the UK, focuses on fighting Indian control in Kashmir and is based in the Punjab region of Pakistan.
Pakistan denies allegations of terror camps operating in the country. This region has been in the control of the Punjabi government since 2010. The Punjab government condemned the Indian strikes, and declared a state of emergency across Punjab.
Muskan Sangwan, senior intelligence analyst at TRAC, a terrorism research and analysis consortium, told Sky News: “Brigade 313 is al Qaeda in Pakistan. It’s an umbrella organisation for members of several groups like Taliban, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, Haqqat ul-Jihad-al-Islami, Jaish-e Muhammad, Lashkar-e-Taiba, and Jundullah.”
Ms Sangwan explained that ‘313’ refers to the number of companions said to have fought with the Prophet Mohammed in the Battle of Badr.
TRAC have seen a recent uptick in TikTok videos and other social media posts that refer to ‘313’.
Many of the accounts are linked to each other.
Ms Sangwan said: “They [the TikTok users] mostly use ‘313’ as a hashtag… trying to push that hashtag to as many people it can reach on social media.”
Sky News sought to verify the location by comparing before and after videos from the strike location, and using the video released by the Indian army conducting the strike.
One video showing damage at the strike location was posted by a user with 313 in their TikTok username.
The TikTok account that posted video footage of the destruction in Muridke has 313 in the username
Below is satellite imagery that shows the destruction of the site.
Satellite imagery shows Markaz Taiba Mosque after the strike on 7 May. Credit: Maxar
In one TikTok, the video is captioned “bring your arms and ammunition and go to war”. The text on the screen of the TikTok is ‘313’ and he is carrying a gun.
The group are comfortable with having an online presence. On the Google tag for Markaz Taiba Mosque in Muridke, men pose for a group photo. Almost all the people in the photo have used ‘313’ on TikTok.
Ms Sangwan explained: “With these people from Muridke, pushing this propaganda on social media would generate a lot of significance in terms of recruitment and in terms of gaining support from local people and from other people.”
Sky News’ Asia correspondent Cordelia Lynch has reported on the ground in Muridke.
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Anger in Pakistan after India strikes
India says it struck Markaz Taiba, a site in Muridke about 15 miles (25km) from the border, which has long been claimed to be a terrorist training site associated with LeT.
MEMRI, a US-based research group that monitors terrorist threats, told Sky News: “It has been known for decades that Lashkar-e-Taiba has its headquarters in Muridke.”
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Sky News contacted the Pakistan Ministry of Defence for comment. Khawaja Asif, Pakistan’s defence minister, told Sky News: “This appears to be a random video with background music added later – consistent with how TikTok trends often function. If this is to be considered credible evidence, we could produce millions of similar clips ourselves.”
Mr Asif also said that any suggestion that the mosque was used as a base by terrorists was a “completely false, social media made up hoax”.
On 7 May, after the strikes in Pakistan, the Indian subcontinent branch of al Qaeda issued a statement condemning India’s actions and encouraging its supporters to wage jihad against India.
The Data and Forensics team is a multi-skilled unit dedicated to providing transparent journalism from Sky News. We gather, analyse and visualise data to tell data-driven stories. We combine traditional reporting skills with advanced analysis of satellite images, social media and other open source information. Through multimedia storytelling we aim to better explain the world while also showing how our journalism is done.
World
Putin wants direct talks with Ukraine, but Zelenskyy and allies demand 30-day ceasefire from Monday
Russia’s president has suggested fresh peace talks with Ukraine in Istanbul as part of “direct negotiations” but also “without preconditions”.
Vladimir Putin put forward the proposal as European leaders including Sir Keir Starmer threatened him with fresh sanctions if Russia failed to comply with an unconditional 30-day ceasefire starting on Monday.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told CNN that Moscow will need to consider those terms.
On Saturday the prime minister met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy alongside French President Emmanuel Macron, recently elected German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk in Kyiv.
Speaking at the Kremlin in the early hours of Sunday, Mr Putin did not directly address the 30-day ceasefire proposal but instead offered to restart peace talks Russia and Ukraine held in 2022.
Vladimir Putin told reporters he was committed to talks. Pic: RIA Novosti/AP
“We propose the Kyiv authorities resume the negotiations they interrupted at the end of 2022… to resume direct negotiations… without any preconditions… to begin without delay next Thursday 15 May in Istanbul,” he said.
Russia’s own unilateral three-day ceasefire, declared for the 80th anniversary of victory over Nazi Germany, expired on Saturday, and Ukraine said Russian forces have repeatedly violated it.
European leaders including Volodymyr Zelenskyy hold call with Donald Trump. Pic: Number 10
During the summit in Kyiv, European leaders secured the backing of Donald Trump after briefing him on the progress made on the so-called “coalition of the willing” plans in a 20-minute phone call.
“All of us here, together with the US, are calling Putin out,” said Sir Keir.
“So we are clear, all five leaders here – all the leaders of the meeting we just had with the coalition of the willing – an unconditional ceasefire, rejecting Putin’s conditions, and clear that if he turns his back on peace, we will respond.
“Working with President Trump, with all our partners, we will ramp up sanctions and increase our military aid for Ukraine’s defence to pressure Russia back to the table.”
Sir Keir Starmer, Emmanuel Macron and Friedrich Merz travelling in the saloon car of a special train to Kyiv. Pic: Reuters
Leaders arrive in Kyiv by train. Pic: PA
It comes after President Trump called for “ideally” a 30-day ceasefire between Kyiv and Moscow, and warned that if any pause in the fighting is not respected “the US and its partners will impose further sanctions”.
During Mr Putin’s statement on Sunday, he insisted he would support peace talks: “We are committed to serious negotiations with Ukraine.”
He told reporters: “Their purpose is to eliminate the root causes of the conflict, to establish a long-term, lasting peace. We do not rule out that during these negotiations it will be possible to agree on some new truces, a new ceasefire.”
Security and defence analyst Michael Clarke told Sky News presenter Samantha Washington the European leaders are “rowing in behind” the US president, who referred to his “European allies” for the first time in this context in a post on his Truth Social platform.
“So this meeting is all about heaping pressure on the Russians to go along with the American proposal,” he said.
“It’s the closest the Europeans and the US have been for about three months on this issue.”
Trump calls for ceasefire. Pic: Truth Social
Mr Zelenskyy told reporters the agreed ceasefire should cover air, sea and land, and said that if Moscow refused, Russia would face new sanctions, including the strengthening of punitive measures targeting its energy and banking sectors.
The European leaders said the terms of a peace deal would be negotiated during the 30-day pause in fighting.
But the Ukrainian president said: “We have no illusions that the ceasefire will be breached.”
Mr Macron said the proposed ceasefire would be monitored mainly by the US and European countries and there would be “massive” sanctions if Russia did not agree.
Sir Keir and Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a meeting in March. Pic: AP
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Military officers from around 30 countries have been involved in drawing up plans for a coalition, which would provide a peacekeeping force in the event of a ceasefire being agreed between Russia and Ukraine.
This force “would help regenerate Ukraine’s armed forces after any peace deal and strengthen confidence in any future peace”, according to Number 10 Downing Street.
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Mr Peskov accused European leaders of making contradictory and confrontational statements, according to Interfax news agency.
“We hear many contradictory statements from Europe. They are generally confrontational in nature rather than aimed at trying to revive our relations. Nothing more,” he was quoted as saying.
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