Britain just opened the door to a slavery apology and ruled out paying a penny
2 November 2026 · 2 November 2026Share
Andy Burnham giving his Shadow Home Secretary speech at the 2016 Labour Party Conference in Liverpool. File photo. Rwendland · CC BY-SA 4.0
Andy Burnham has just opened the door to a formal British apology for slavery.
And that reverses Keir Starmer's old flat refusal to even discuss it.
So what changed? The Prime Minister wrote a Guardian opinion piece three days ago. In it, he said Britain is open to a formal apology for the slave trade.
But here's the catch. No money.
He flew to Antigua and Barbuda today, for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. It started two days ago in St John's and runs until tomorrow.
Andy Burnham says quote "We are offering a structured dialogue with those affected by the transatlantic slave trade" and that a formal apology is something he is open to.
That's a Prime Minister putting an apology on the table his predecessor would not touch.
So why not pay reparations too?
Andy Burnham says today's British people cannot be blamed for the past. He writes that it happened under different laws, in a different age, and that people alive now played no personal part in it.
He also says he feels sorrow and regret for the suffering of millions. But sorrow is not a cheque.
Instead, he wants a debt-restructuring drive. Gordon Brown, the former Prime Minister and Chancellor, will help lead it.
The idea is simple. Let the poorest countries repay their debts over longer periods, at better rates.
Andy Burnham says more than 40% of the world's poorest and most vulnerable countries spend more on debt interest than on healthcare.
Now, King Charles the Third speaks at the summit too. Organisers say he will address slavery with "unflinching honesty" and "sincere sorrow".
But he is not expected to apologise himself. So the weight sits with the government, not the Crown.
And here's the pushback at home. Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative leader, says don't apologise at all. She calls it a lever to wedge open the door to ask for cash. She has also called it navel-gazing.
That's the opposition saying sorry words lead straight to a bill.
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Half Moon Bay, Antigua and Barbuda. File photo. Dario Item · CC0
Caribbean leaders aren't lined up together either.
Mia Mottley, the Prime Minister of Barbados, welcomed the opening for talks. But she repeated her government's existing position on reparations.
She announced a 19-point reparations manifesto back in June. It goes further than the Caribbean's long-standing 10-point plan. It adds a full and formal apology, compensation from institutions, technology transfer and debt relief.
Gaston Browne is the Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, and he's hosting this summit. He welcomed the debt plan.
But he also posted on Facebook that the Caribbean's position on reparatory justice has not changed.
Philip J Pierre, the Prime Minister of Saint Lucia and the current chair of CARICOM, calls Andy Burnham's apology incomplete without repair.
John Dramani Mahama, the President of Ghana, welcomed the statement with caution. He wants a formal apology plus targeted investment.
Back home, Dawn Butler, the Labour MP for Brent East, says reparations take many forms. She welcomed the Prime Minister acknowledging a complicated history.
Bell Ribeiro-Addy chairs the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Afrikan Reparations. She welcomed the step but says action is still lacking.
Ralph Gonsalves is the former Prime Minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines. He told The Guardian that Britain was firmly against reparations being on the summit's agenda. And he says Andy Burnham might not have come otherwise.
This has happened before, too. Reparations were a major topic at the 2024 summit in Samoa. Keir Starmer said at the time it wasn't on Britain's agenda.
So here's some history. Britain transported 3.1 million enslaved Africans to its colonies. Of those, 2.7 million arrived, according to the UK National Archives.
Back in 2006, Tony Blair said he felt deep sorrow about Britain's part in the slave trade. He did not apologise, and he did not discuss reparations.
So Andy Burnham has gone further than Tony Blair. And further than Keir Starmer.
But not as far as Caribbean nations are asking.
So what don't we know? Whether a formal apology actually gets issued at this summit. What words the King will use. And whether dialogue with no money attached will be enough for the countries pushing hardest.
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