Key facts
- Commonwealth leaders' joint communique said the UK agreed to a structured, time-bound, inclusive and good-faith dialogue with affected parties.
- Prime Minister Andy Burnham approved £40m in aid funding for the Caribbean and signaled openness to a formal apology.
- Foreign secretary Ed Miliband said British taxpayers will not pay a penny more and ruled out reparations.
- King Charles told a Caribbean summit the transatlantic trade in enslaved persons still casts a shadow over the islands.
- Activists near the summit held signs reading "You say you regret so apologise" and calling for reparatory justice.
The UK has agreed to a "structured, time-bound, inclusive and good-faith dialogue" with nations affected by the transatlantic slave trade, according to a joint communique from Commonwealth leaders reported by The Independent on November 4, 2026. The statement said the moment had arrived for a "meaningful, truthful and respectful conversation towards forging a common future based on equity".
The move follows signals from Prime Minister Andy Burnham that he was open to a formal apology for Britain's historic role in the trade, though he dismissed paying direct reparations. Earlier in the week Burnham approved £40m in aid funding for the Caribbean and said the Commonwealth is "more important today than ever before" amid volatile times globally, as he met his Antigua and Barbuda counterpart Gaston Browne.
King Charles told a summit in the Caribbean that the transatlantic trade in enslaved persons "still casts a shadow over these islands and other members of our Commonwealth" and described the chapter as one that fills his heart with horror and his soul with profound personal sorrow.
Foreign secretary Ed Miliband insisted British taxpayers will not pay a penny more as a result of Burnham's new approach. Speaking to BBC Newscast, he accused previous governments of having a tendency to "sweep under the carpet" the issue of slavery, and echoed Burnham in ruling out extra financial contributions and reparations. He criticised what he described as a "sorry, not sorry" from Tony Blair, who in 2006 expressed "deep sorrow and regret" for Britain's involvement but stopped short of an official apology, and suggested the government might reach a formal apology by the time it hosts the G20 leaders' summit in Manchester in November 2027.
A small protest was seen near the perimeter of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting area, with activists holding signs reading "You say you regret so apologise" and calling for reparatory justice. St Lucia's Prime Minister Philip J Pierre, chairman of the 15-member Caribbean Community, was reportedly quoted saying the bloc was "ready to engage" in the structured dialogue Burnham had proposed.