Badenoch tells Burnham to stand up for Britain over slavery apology plan

Britain's Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has accused Prime Minister Andy Burnham of putting King Charles in a difficult position by saying the UK is open to apologising for its role in the transatlantic slave trade.

In a Guardian article published during Black History Month, Burnham said Britain was willing to consider a formal apology but ruled out paying reparations, arguing that people living today cannot be held liable for wrongs they did not commit. He offered a structured dialogue with affected communities instead and said former Prime Minister Gordon Brown would lead work on easing the debts of the world's poorest countries.

His comments came ahead of a four-day Commonwealth summit in St John's, Antigua and Barbuda, hosted by the King, where Caribbean leaders are expected to press their long-running demand for an apology and compensation.

Speaking to Sky News, Badenoch said the summit should focus on security, trade and economic partnerships rather than apologies. She argued that any apology was a matter for the sovereign and that Burnham's stance was creating pressure on the King. She urged him to defend the country instead of acting as its chief apologiser, and has previously described the move as navel-gazing.

Downing Street and Buckingham Palace say the King was told about the Prime Minister's comments in advance and was not caught off guard.

Reaction elsewhere has been mixed. CARICOM chair and Saint Lucia Prime Minister Philip Pierre said an apology without repair would be incomplete, while Ghana's President John Dramani Mahama gave a cautious welcome and called for a formal apology backed by targeted investment. In 2006, Tony Blair expressed deep sorrow over the slave trade but stopped short of an apology.