Miliband insists the slavery apology won't cost taxpayers a penny while Burnham prepares to hand Caribbean nations £40m
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 broke with his own Prime Minister on Wednesday, telling the BBC that taxpayers would pay "not a penny more" for Burnham's new Commonwealth initiative — a pledge Burnham himself repeatedly declined to make when pressed. The Foreign Secretary accused previous governments of having a "sweep it under the carpet" mentality, and said a formal apology covering Britain's historical involvement in the slave trade is expected before the UK's G20 host duties in Manchester next November.
Burnham is set to announce a £40m commitment to Caribbean nations at the Commonwealth summit in Antigua, even as Britain's national debt sits at £3 trillion.
Miliband took aim at Tony Blair's 2006 "sorry, not sorry" position, arguing that No 10 "walked back" Blair's expressions of sorrow — prompting Quentin Letts to brand Miliband a "national liability."
King Charles, also present at the Antigua summit, pointedly stopped short of an apology, declaring "we cannot change the past" — placing him at odds with the stance his ministers are advancing.
