Labour MP labels Keir Starmer’s reparations refusal 'embarrassing colonial mindset'

Calls grow louder for reparations as Keir Starmer meets with Commonwealth leaders at a summit in Samoa after King Charles was confronted in Australia over Britain's role in colonialism

A Labour MP has labelled Keir Starmer’s refusal to apologise and pay reparations for slavery “embarrassing” and "smacking of a colonial attitude".

The Prime Minister began his visit to Samoa for the Commonwealth heads of government meeting (Chogm) today as pressure mounted to address slavery and calls for reparations from leaders. But a government spokesperson said last week that reparations would not be paid.

Now, Clive Lewis - MP for Norwich South - has hit out at the party leader saying the government could have started its leadership on a "more positive note". Clive said: “I think it's embarrassing. I think the Labour government could have started on a more positive note.

“Even Prince Charles has engaged with the issue. The least they can do is move this conversation on. This is what we expect to hear from a hard-right Conservative government.

“If Britain values the Commonwealth, then it will engage in beginning to unpick this and frankly, I think it's condescending, and I think it smacks of quite frankly, a colonial attitude. Which is that Britain will decide what gets discussed.”

When slavery was abolished, plantation owners received approximately £17 billion in today's money for the "loss of human property" while those who were enslaved got nothing.

The UN judge Patrick Robinson found that the UK owed more than £18tn in reparations for its historical involvement in slavery across 14 countries.

But Clive says it's important that institutions and corporations who are still profiting from slavery should be the ones who pay and not working class citizens.

Clive said: There is a core of organisations, entities and individuals who have benefited from slavery and the Empire and still do. Those are the ones who need to pay reparatory justice. It isn’t the working people of this country.”

The Trevelyans, a British aristocratic family whose ancestors were compensated with £26,898 when slavery was abolished, enslaved 1,004 people and owned six sugar plantations on the island on Grenada.

After discovering their involvement, the family publicly apologised and pledged £100,000 to rebuild communities on the island and have urged the British government to follow suit.

Today the Prime Minister's official spokesman said Mr Starmer would not entertain calls for reparations. He said: "The Government's position is very clear - we do not pay reparations."

Pressed on whether there would be an apology for Britain's role in the slave trade he said: "Our position on apology remains the same, we won't be offering an apology (at the summit) but we will continue to engage with partners on the issues as we work with them to tackle the pressing challenges today and indeed, the future generations."