Commonwealth heads say it's time for reparations talk

Commonwealth leaders have defied the prime minister to agree the "time has come" to discuss reparations for the slave trade.

- KATE DEVLIN

A row over the issue erupted earlier this week as Keir Starmer arrived at a major two-day summit in Samoa.

The UK has failed to keep language on reparations out of a joint statement signed at the end of the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting, despite Sir Keir’s call for the group to look to the future and not the past. However, the prime minister insisted there had been no discussions about money at the event. And he tried to downplay the prominence of the issue, saying talks about climate resilience had instead been the “absolute priority”.