King to address slavery at Commonwealth summit in Antigua
The King will speak on the transatlantic slave trade with “unflinching honesty, sincere sorrow” when he addresses Commonwealth leaders in Antigua on Tuesday, the Palace says. Andy Burnham has said he is “open” to a formal British apology, though not to reparations. Kemi Badenoch called “endless talk about apologies” a “distraction”.
No British government has formally apologised for slavery or offered reparations; the prime minister’s shift is a change of stance. The Palace was told in advance of his article and says the speech has not been altered in response. Antigua’s prime minister, Gaston Browne, said slavery’s “consequences have not disappeared with the passage of time” and that reparatory justice deserves “sustained international engagement”, which he is pursuing in bilateral talks at the summit. Badenoch said “it is time for the Commonwealth to start looking forwards, not endlessly backwards”. The language of Tuesday’s speech, and any government statement alongside it, is the indicator to watch.