Burnham 'Open' to Formal Apology for Slavery Ahead of Commonwealth Summit, but Rules Out Reparations

Next week, the Prime Minister is due to fly to the Caribbean for the Commonwealth heads of government meeting, known as Chogm. Before he goes, Andy Burnham has set out in the pages of The Guardian how he intends to handle the question that has followed the Commonwealth for years: what Britain owes for its part in the transatlantic slave trade.

His answer comes in two parts. He said he is open to calls for a formal apology on behalf of the British state, and he expressed his own "sorrow and regret" for the suffering the trade caused. He ruled out reparation payments.

Burnham described the trade as a "brutal and barbaric violation" in which people were treated as property and worked to their deaths. He wrote that he wanted to express sorrow and regret for the pain and suffering of so many millions, and to recognise the way the trade still shapes the world today.

The article lands against a backdrop of pressure. Caribbean nations have renewed their calls for Britain to apologise for its role in selling enslaved people for profit, and to pay reparations. Those calls were made again as the King toured the region.

The Prime Minister's response is what he called a "structured dialogue" with those affected by the slave trade. Listening to calls for a formal state apology, he said, will form an important part of that process, and he is open to them. He did not commit to delivering one. He framed the effort as both a duty and a matter of national character. Having these difficult conversations to safeguard the Commonwealth's future, he wrote, is the right thing to do and also the patriotic thing to do, because the Britain he believes in is confident, decent and brave. Britain led the world in abolishing slavery, he argued, and can show leadership again.

On money, he kept to the line held by his predecessors. He acknowledged that some have called for financial reparations, but said he does not believe that is the right answer. His reasoning was that British people today cannot be held liable for historical wrongs, however heinous, that happened in a different age under different laws and in which they played no personal part.

In place of reparations, he said he would seek to launch a drive on debt-servicing, aimed at helping countries repay over a longer period and at better rates. Three figures will join him at the summit to help with that work: Chancellor John Healey, Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband and former prime minister Gordon Brown.

The wider package includes UK support for countries making the transition to renewable energy, and for getting smaller nations heard on the world stage. It also covers work to educate women and girls and to tackle poverty and inequality.

The summit in the Caribbean is where the offer will be tested: whether leaders there accept dialogue and debt relief in place of reparations, and whether the open door on a formal apology leads to one.