The UK government has confirmed it will not apologise for Britain’s role in the transatlantic slave trade at next week’s Commonwealth Heads of Government (Chogm) summit in Samoa, where King Charles and Prime Minister Keir Starmer are set to be present, with other nations likely to raise the issue.
Last year, King Charles expressed “greatest sorrow and regret” over the atrocities endured by Kenyans during their fight for independence from British colonial rule. However, he stopped short of issuing a formal apology, which was criticised by Kenyan human rights groups as a “miss”. Any such apology would have required ministerial approval.
The UK government has made it clear to BBC that even if historical links to slavery are raised at the summit, there are no plans for a symbolic apology.
Earlier on Monday, Downing Street also stated that the government has no plans to pay reparations for slavery. All three candidates vying to succeed Patricia Scotland as Commonwealth secretary general have expressed support for reparations to countries impacted by slavery and colonisation.
There had been speculation that the newly elected Labour government might issue an apology for Britain’s involvement in the transatlantic slave trade. Last year, several Labour backbenchers, including Bell Ribeiro-Addy, called for the party to adopt an apology as policy.
The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, set to take place in Samoa on October 25 and 26, will gather leaders from 56 nations.
However, Downing Street’s current stance appears to follow the position held by the previous Conservative government. Last year, Rishi Sunak rejected the idea of an apology, stating that “trying to unpick our history is not the right way forward.”
In 2006, Tony Blair had described slave trade as a “crime against humanity” in an article for the weekly newspaper New Nation, but stopped short of an official apology, despite calls from campaigners and the Archbishop of York. A year later, during a news conference with Ghana’s then-president John Kufuor, Blair responded to a question on the matter by saying, “Well, actually I have said it: We are sorry. And I say it again now.”
Starmer’s spokesperson said on Monday that the prime minister would be in Samoa “to discuss the shared challenges and opportunities faced by the Commonwealth, including driving growth across our economies”.
Some UK institutions have already taken steps towards addressing their historical links to slavery. The Church of England has pledged to create a £1bn fund to tackle the legacy of slavery, and last year, the Guardian apologised for its founders’ involvement in transatlantic slavery, announcing a £10m-plus restorative justice programme.
Labour’s decision to maintain the stance of previous Conservative governments, which dismisses reparations as a topic for discussion, could provoke anger from some Commonwealth nations ahead of the summit.
One of the summit’s key tasks will be choosing a new secretary general to replace Scotland, who has held the role since 2016. Last month, the three candidates from the Gambia, Ghana, and Lesotho, all endorsed the concept of financial reparations or another form of “reparative justice” for countries affected by slavery and colonisation.
The UK is facing growing pressure both domestically and internationally to address the issue. Last year, the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Afrikan Reparations held a conference in London to establish a future strategy for advancing the cause of reparations.
