Charles will open the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting as leaders weigh Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s offer of talks on an apology, which stops short of reparations
King Charles is expected to speak about slavery with “unflinching honesty” and “sincere sorrow” when he gives the keynote address opening the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Antigua and Barbuda. The summit is expected to be dominated by the question of slavery and reparations after Prime Minister Andy Burnham announced a change in long-standing government policy and offered talks on an apology. Mr Burnham has ruled out reparations.
Burnham’s offer
Mr Burnham has said he is open to “listening to calls for a formal apology” over slavery, but has ruled out reparations. Opponents have criticised him, claiming he has put the King under pressure. After arriving in Antigua and Barbuda on Monday, he rejected that: “No. We are reaching out and listening. The whole aim here has been to come and listen and bring a new approach to the Commonwealth, and to bring people together.”
St Lucia’s Prime Minister, Philip J Pierre, who chairs the 15-member Caribbean Community (Caricom), reportedly said the bloc was “ready to engage” in the structured dialogue Mr Burnham has proposed. “No British prime minister has gone this far before … we are ready to engage,” he said. But he added: “A dialogue that begins by placing reparations outside the room cannot be a complete dialogue.”
Antigua and Barbuda’s Prime Minister, Gaston Browne, told ITV News on Sunday that he believed compensation should be paid by Britain.
The King’s role
Charles will preside over the summit as head of the Commonwealth. He is politically neutral and will not take part in the leaders’ discussions, which are being held informally without aides in the room. A Buckingham Palace spokesperson said his role was “inspiring and convening, rather than policy making”.
The summit comes at the end of a nine-day Caribbean tour, which took the King first to the Bahamas and then on a state visit to Guyana. On the first day he acknowledged the “great suffering of the past” and confirmed that CHOGM would discuss the legacy of slavery.
