Burnham fuels reparations fears as he agrees to 'address' and apologise for Britain's slave trade legacy after tense talks with Commonwealth leaders

Andy Burnham has fuelled fears that Britain will be on the hook to make massive reparations for its historic role in the slave trade after he agreed Britain would take part in talks with Commonwealth nations. Leaders attending a Caribbean summit said the UK would engage in 'structured, time-bound, inclusive and good-faith' talks that address the 'historical harms' of the transatlantic slave trade. In a joint statement, the group of nations said the time had come for a 'meaningful, truthful and respectful conversation towards forging a common future based on equity'.

Mr Burnham has said there is no prospect of direct reparations but has set aside £40milllion to cover infrastructure improvements in the Caribbean over the next three years. His visit to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (Chogm) saw him hold talks with the leaders of Ghana and Barbados, two nations leading the campaign for reparations. Ed Miliband , who also attended the event in Antigua, suggested the Labour Government might issue a formal apology by the time it hosts the G20 leaders ' summit in Manchester in a year's time.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has urged the Prime Minister not to issue an apology for slavery, saying it would give countries a reason to ask the UK for reparations. She said: 'I don't think we should be giving any money to compensate people for the slave trade – and I don't think that Andy Burnham needs to be apologising because it is a lever to wedge open the door to ask for cash.' Mr Burnham's visit to Chogm saw him hold talks with the leaders of Ghana and Barbados (top), two nations leading the campaign for reparations The communique released at the end of Chogm said: 'We welcome the agreement of the Government of the United Kingdom to engage in a structured, time-bound, inclusive and good-faith dialogue with affected parties addressing the transatlantic trafficking of enslaved Africans and its historical harms.'

Mr Burnham has used his first Chogm to promise to listen to other member states and pursue a 'new approach' to the Commonwealth, after the last summit in 2024 saw Downing Street resist calls for an apology and seek instead to focus on the future of the group. In keeping with his predecessors, he has rejected the idea of paying reparations but has said he wants to look at ways to help poorer countries struggling with debt repayments. Mr Miliband has insisted British taxpayers will not pay a penny more as a result of the shift in position.

There have been questions about the scope of future financial support after the Prime Minister declined to say whether there might be additional contributions stopping short of direct reparations. But Mr Miliband accused previous governments of having a tendency to 'sweep under the carpet' the issue of slavery more broadly and said the last summit had culminated in a 'verbal punch-up' which the Government wanted to avoid. He also criticised what he described as a 'sorry, not sorry' from Sir Tony Blair, who in 2006 expressed 'deep sorrow and regret' for Britain's involvement in the slave trade but stopped short of an official apology.

Calls for an apology and reparations have grown in recent years, with St Lucia's prime minister, Philip J Pierre, chairman of the 15-member Caribbean Community reportedly saying the economic and political bloc was 'ready to engage' in the 'structured dialogue' Mr Burnham had proposed. Gaston Browne, the PM of Antigua and Barbuda, told The Guardian that Caribbean nations would not make 'unreasonable demands' of the UK, adding: 'Perhaps there are some who believe that he may have dodged the issue as a relatively new prime minister. 'I think he has shown a significant amount of courage and goodwill, and I can tell you that he has developed a lot of goodwill with the Caribbean nations.'

The Commonwealth leaders' summit coincided with a visit by the King, who is the head of the group, to the Caribbean. Charles addressed the legacy of slavery as he opened the gathering, telling leaders that it was a 'shameful chapter of history' which 'fills my heart with horror and my soul with the most profound personal sorrow'.