UK Government rules out slavery reparations and apology

Keir Starmer and Foreign Secretary David Lammy (below) will attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (Chogm) in Samoa later this week, amid calls for reparations from Labour MPs and Caribbean governments. At the summit, leaders will elect a new secretary general for the Commonwealth to replace Patricia Scotland, who held the position from 2016. All three candidates in the running have called for reparations for countries which were plundered during the slave trade. But the Prime Minister’s official spokesperson has ruled out compensatory payments and an apology from the Government. A Downing Street spokesperson said: “Reparation’s not on the agenda for the Chogm meeting. READ MORE: Australian senator interrupts King Charles’s speech “The Government’s position on this has not changed, we do not pay reparations. “The Prime Minister’s attending this week’s summit to discuss shared challenges and opportunities faced by the Commonwealth including driving growth across our economies.” Asked about an apology, the spokesperson added: “The position on apology remains the same, we won’t be offering an apology at Chogm, but we will continue to engage with partners on the issues as we work with them to tackle the pressing challenges of today and indeed for the future generations.”...