PM Starmer, “paying reparations for slave trade, not in the Commonwealth agenda”

Wednesday, October 16th 2024 – 08:33 UTC Full article Sir Hilary Beckles, “It is our intention to persist with this strategy of calling for a summit to work through what a reparatory justice model ought to look like” “Just to be clear, reparations are not on the agenda for the Commonwealth heads of government meeting. Technically, the (UK) Government’s position on this has not changed. We do not pay reparations,” said Downing Street official spokesperson, when asked what PM Keir Starmer’s view on paying reparations for Britain’s involvement in the slave trade was. Calls from campaigners for compensation payments to be made to the countries affected by the slave trade have increased ahead of next week’s Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHoGM) in Samoa. Sir Hilary Beckles, the chairman of the Caribbean Community Reparations Commission, said: “It is our intention to persist with this strategy of calling for a summit to work through what a reparatory justice model ought to look like in the case of the Caribbean.“Estimates have put the potential British liabilities at around £200 billion. ”The Prime Minister is attending the summit in Samoa to discuss the shared challenges and opportunities faced by the Commonwealth, including driving...