Andy Burnham is under mounting pressure from Labour figures to go further after signalling that he may support a formal apology for Britain’s role in the slave trade.
The Prime Minister has been warned that the unexpected concession remains “insufficient”, while ministers sought to ease concerns that the UK could ultimately face demands for reparations.
Mr Burnham’s intervention comes ahead of this week’s potentially turbulent Commonwealth summit, where the legacy of slavery was already expected to dominate discussions.
The comments also emerged despite journalists travelling with the King being told as recently as Thursday evening that the Government’s position was “absolutely no apology”.
Mr Burnham, who is due to attend the Commonwealth heads of government meeting (CHOGM), told The Guardian that he wanted a “structured dialogue” with communities 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 said.
Andy Burnham faces growing Labour pressure to support a formal apology for Britain’s role in the slave trade
The move appeared to catch the King off guard after journalists travelling with the monarch were told as recently as Thursday that the Government’s policy was “absolutely no apology”
Labour MP Bell Ribeiro-Addy, chair of an all-party parliamentary group on Afrikan Reparations, said an apology should lead to “concrete steps” addressing the UK state’s responsibility
He also expressed his personal “sorrow and regret” over slavery, while rejecting calls for financial reparations.
Instead, the Prime Minister proposed an initiative focused on debt servicing, allowing countries to repay their debts over longer periods and at more favourable rates.
Chancellor John Healey, Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband and former prime minister Gordon Brown are expected to attend the summit and help develop the plan.
However, Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley interpreted Mr Burnham’s comments as a possible opening for reparations.
She thanked him 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”.
The remarks have also fuelled speculation over whether the King, as head of the Commonwealth, could be expected to issue a public apology on Britain’s behalf.
The monarch is scheduled to deliver a keynote address to Commonwealth leaders in Antigua on Tuesday.
Royal sources said Buckingham Palace had been informed of Mr Burnham’s comments in a “timely manner” and insisted there was no need to change the King’s CHOGM speech or official programme.
A No 10 source said the Palace had been made aware of the remarks through the “usual dialogue” with the Government. The source echoed the Palace’s description of the notification as “timely”, adding: “It would be incorrect to suggest otherwise.”
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Kemi Badenoch has suggested that the UK could consider boycotting Commonwealth summits if they become “an exercise in presenting Britain with demands for cash”.
“I think that Andy Burnham has been putting his foot in his mouth since he became PM,” she told Sky News.
“If he starts going in to do things which the sovereign is not doing I think that he could create pressure.”
Bell Ribeiro-Addy, the Labour MP who chairs an all-party parliamentary group on Afrikan Reparations, said any apology should be followed by “concrete steps” to acknowledge the UK state’s responsibility.
She said those measures should extend beyond a simple financial payment.
“Nobody is asking the average British person to take responsibility for African chattel enslavement,” Ms Ribeiro-Addy wrote 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.”
Mr Healey told the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme that financial reparations were not being considered.
“The Prime Minister has said, look, we are open to a discussion about an apology,” he said.
“He feels that that’s the right thing, particularly ahead of the Commonwealth leaders’ conference.
John Healey said financial reparations were not being considered during an appearance on the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg
“But he doesn’t believe that reparations are the right approach. Considering a formal apology does not mean accepting that British people today should bear financial liability for events that took place hundreds of years ago and in which they had no role.”
Emma Reynolds, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, rejected the suggestion that reparations would automatically follow an apology.
“I don’t agree with that,” she told Sky News.
“I think the symbolism … of issuing a formal apology is powerful.
“It is something people across the region are discussing and have requested. But, as the Government has made clear, it would not involve financial reparations because British people today did not play a role in the slave trade hundreds of years ago. It is also important to recognise that brave men and women in this country led the campaign to abolish slavery.”
