Left-wing MPs heap pressure on Burnham over slavery reparations after he opened door to official apology at Commonwealth summit

Left-wing MPs have been heaping pressure on Andy Burnham over slavery reparations after he opened the door to making an official apology. The PM is heading for a Commonwealth summit in Antigua and Barbuda that could be dominated by the issue. Mr Burnham signalled a major shift in the UK's stance over the weekend, insisting he wanted a 'structured dialogue' with those affected by slavery. '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 wrote in the Guardian. Mr Burnham rejected calls for cash reparations - floating debt write offs and downgrades instead. There are also signs the Government is prepared to fund health and education projects in Commonwealth states, although officials stressed that would come from existing aid budgets. Andy Burnham is heading for a Commonwealth summit in Antigua and Barbuda that could be dominated by the issue of slavery reparations The King meeting the PM of Antigua and Barbuda, Gaston Browne, yesterday Labour MP Bell Ribeiro-Addy, head of the all-party Parliamentary group on Afrikan Reparations, said an apology must be the prelude to 'concrete steps' on addressing the responsibility of the UK state.

That must go wider than simply financial reparations, she argued. 'Nobody is asking the average British person to take responsibility for African chattel enslavement,' Ms Ribeiro-Addy posted on social media. 'This is about the British state, which protected and profited from it. 'Reparations is not something you simply write a cheque for, it's an ongoing process of repair that must begin with an apology.' Senior Labour backbencher Meg Hillier told the BBC's Westminster Hour there was a 'live discussion' about reparations. 'It was only earlier this year that the UN passed a motion for reparations and the British position changed.

It didn't oppose it, it abstained,' she said. 'This is a very live discussion.' Dame Meg stressed reparations were not just about 'writing a cheque'. 'It's about working together... I guess you could say it's a bit like in Europe where the poorer countries benefited from being part of that,' she said. Dame Meg said there were hopes the Commonwealth Heads of Government Summit would see 'some discussion that will edge things along'. 'I think the PM is probably leaning into it for that reason,' she added.

Labour MP Nadia Whittome said over the weekend that the British state 'needs to move beyond warm words and confront our imperial past, so that we can build an anti-racist future'. 'That means heeding calls for reparatory justice and tackling systemic racism across our institutions,' she added. Green MP Carla Denyer posted on the BlueSky social media site: 'Personal remorse and words from the Prime Minister for what the UN called 'the gravest crime against humanity' is not nearly enough.

The United Kingdom played a major role in the Transatlantic Trafficking of Enslaved Africans... 'A great deal of the wealth of the United Kingdom was founded on this vile crime against humanity, and the legacies of chattel, colonial and neocolonial forms of enslavement are still prevalent in our society today. 'The @greenparty.org.uk calls on the Prime Minister to commit the UK government to set up a Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry for Truth and Reparatory Justice, to address the transatlantic trade in enslaved Africans that the UN described as the gravest crime against humanity.'

However, the Tories and Reform have dismissed the idea of compensation for a slave trade that ended centuries ago, pointing out that human history is littered with examples of unfairness and abuse that would need to be reopened on the same principles. Shadow frontbencher Ben Obese-Jecty said the UK funding health and education in Commonwealth countries would effectively be reparations. 'Anyone who's actually read the CARICOM 10-point plan for reparatory justice will recognise that these are the steps the reparatory justice movement is demanding,' he said. 'Andy Burnham, either through ignorance because, as ever, he isn't across the detail or by stealth because he can sneak it through, is opening the door to fulfilling demands for reparations whilst the media is distracted by what it *thinks* reparations are, rather than what they *actually* are.'

Mr Burnham's intervention 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. The monarch is due to make a keynote speech to the gathering of leaders in Antigua tomorrow. Royal sources insisted the Palace had been informed about Mr Burnham's words in a 'timely manner' and insisted that no alterations will have to be made to the King's CHOGM speech or programme.

Labour MP Bell Ribeiro-Addy, head of an all-party Parliamentary group on Afrikan Reparations, said an apology must be the prelude to 'concrete steps' on addressing the responsibility of the UK state A No10 source said the Palace had been aware of Mr Burnham's words as part of the 'usual dialogue' with the Government, and echoed the Palace's words about them being informed in a 'timely manner', adding: 'It would be incorrect to suggest otherwise.'

Kemi Badenoch has suggested the UK might need to boycott Commonwealth summits if they become 'an exercise in presenting Britain with demands for cash'. A Foreign Office spokesman said: 'We are committed to working with Commonwealth partners on issues facing the world, including the role of private finance in tackling global debt issues, addressing the climate crisis, and supporting economic development.' READ MORE: STEPHEN GLOVER: Burnham's comments on slavery are his most destructive blunder yet.

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