PM Burnham refuses to rule out taxpayer cash over slavery apology despite Miliband vowing it won't cost 'a penny more'
King Charles III, whose remarks drew no commitment to reparations, with Buckingham Palace insisting he would not be responsible for delivering any apology.King Charles III and Queen Camilla host Commonwealth Heads of State and their partners at an official dinner in Antigua and Barbuda, as Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband ruled out reparations entirely, insisting the government's structured dialogue would conclude within a year.The Queen enjoying a steel pan band performance, as Ed Miliband insisted a £40 million green energy package for Caribbean Commonwealth nations was entirely unrelated to any slavery apology process.Tables set for an official Commonwealth Heads of Government dinner in Antigua; Andy Burnham announced a £40 million green energy package for Caribbean nations at the summit, though Ed Miliband insisted it was unrelated to any apology process.
Ed Miliband told BBC Newscast that the government's "new approach" to the Commonwealth will not cost British taxpayers "a penny more" — yet his assurance clashed directly with Prime Minister Andy Burnham, who declined on multiple occasions Monday to offer broadcasters the same pledge. Miliband also indicated a formal slavery apology could come as early as the G20 summit in Manchester next November, responding "broadly speaking, yes" when asked whether it would be ready by then. The diverging messages have unleashed a political storm, with Burnham accused of opening a door Miliband is urgently trying to shut.
A £40 million green energy package for Caribbean nations is said to be in the works for Burnham to present.
Miliband criticised Tony Blair over a "sorry, not sorry" stance in 2006, arguing that Blair's expressions of sorrow were "walked back by No 10" — suggesting the current government intends to go further.
King Charles, present at CHOGM in Antigua, carefully avoided any apology, stating "we cannot change the past."
