by Rebecca English and Glen Owen, Daily Mail
King Charles’s tour of the Caribbean has been thrown into confusion after Andy Burnham declared that he was ‘open’ to apologising for Britain’s role in the slave trade.
The Prime Minister’s comments immediately triggered calls from leaders in the West Indies for Britain to pay billions of pounds in reparations – and sparked questions about the UK’s official stance.
Journalists travelling with the King had been assured as late as Thursday evening that the Government’s policy was ‘absolutely no apology’.
Meanwhile, the issue has prompted Tory leader Kemi Badenoch to ask whether the UK should boycott Commonwealth summits if they become ‘an exercise in presenting Britain with demands for cash’.
Mr Burnham’s statement has led to speculation as to whether the King, who is head of the Commonwealth, will be forced to make a public apology on behalf of Britain, or at least drastically change his keynote speech to a gathering of leaders in Antigua on Tuesday.
Mr Burnham, who will fly to the Caribbean for the Commonwealth heads of government meeting (CHOGM), told The Guardian that he wanted to offer a ‘structured dialogue’ with those affected by slavery, saying: ‘Listening to calls for a formal apology on behalf of the British state will form an important part of this process. I am open to them.’
He also expressed his personal ‘sorrow and regret’, while rejecting demands for reparations.
However, his remarks were seized on by Mia Mottley, the prime minister of Barbados, as opening the door to exactly that. She thanked Mr Burnham for ‘breaking new ground and recognising that this is the right thing, and the moral thing, to do by ensuring that we move to the next stage of engagement on this difficult and emotional issue’.
Read also: Britain has already paid reparations for slavery by Tom Tugendhat, Telegraph