Burnham brings 'debt reset' plan to Commonwealth summit as UK opens slavery apology talks

Prime Minister Andy Burnham will join King Charles III at the formal opening of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Antigua later, where he is expected to begin talks with fellow leaders about the UK issuing a formal apology for the slave trade within the next year. Downing Street said the prime minister would also use the summit to set out plans for what it is calling a "debt reset", designed to support Commonwealth countries struggling with the growing costs of paying interest on their debts. The question of reparations for the victims of slavery has dominated the build-up to the summit, which brings together representatives from 56 Commonwealth countries. "Britain is bringing a new approach to this meeting," Burnham said, in a tacit acknowledgement that the last Commonwealth gathering, held on the Pacific island of Samoa two years ago, did not go well from a UK perspective. His predecessor Sir Keir Starmer had said before that meeting that reparations were not on the agenda, but other leaders insisted they should be. This time the new prime minister has sought to get ahead of the debate. Writing in the Guardian, Burnham argued that Commonwealth members affected by the slave trade have asked for years for an honest conversation about the legacies of slavery, and that by "sticking our heads in the sand" Britain had damaged the ability of the Commonwealth to function. Burnham, Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband and former Prime Minister Gordon Brown are beginning conversations they hope will detoxify the reparations debate. They do so while insisting the UK will not pay reparations, but the government is likely to formally apologise for the slave trade for the first time next year, when the UK holds the rotating presidency of the G20. Miliband said in a social media video that a formal apology was something the British government was open to, calling it a significant step. However, he added that the government does not believe financial reparations are the right or feasible answer to transatlantic slavery, and said the right response is not to ask British taxpayers today to make financial payments for these historic acts. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has urged the prime minister not to issue an apology, arguing it would give other countries a reason to demand reparations. "I don't think we should be giving any money to compensate people for the slave trade," she said, adding that an apology would be "a lever to wedge open the door to ask for cash". British officials are nonetheless hopeful, and even confident, that the prime minister and foreign secretary's approach will create space over the next two days for a wider conversation with fellow Commonwealth countries. No 10 also announced that the UK would lead two new task forces, one focused on critical mineral assets and vulnerabilities in supply chains across the group, and the other aimed at boosting trade and investment more widely. Both will be established by the end of the year and report back at the next leaders' summit. British diplomats view the Commonwealth as a useful forum for conversations with developing countries, and, crucially, one that does not involve China, America or Russia.