King will speak of slavery with 'unflinching honesty' at Commonwealth summit but is not expected to apologise despite Burnham's openness
The King and Queen at St John's Pentecostal Church House of Restoration in Antigua and Barbuda, as Labour MP Bell Ribeiro-Addy insisted any apology must be a prelude to "concrete steps," squeezing Burnham from both flanks.The King and Queen at a church service in Antigua and Barbuda, where Andy Burnham's surprise declaration that he was "open" to a formal slavery apology put the King under constitutional pressure ahead of the Commonwealth summit.The King and Queen joined Antiguans and Barbudans for a church service marking the 45th anniversary of Independence and celebrating the Commonwealth.Kemi Badenoch branded the move a "navel-gazing distraction" that puts the King under constitutional pressurePrime Minister Andy Burnham with his wife, Marie-France van Heel, at a Diwali celebration at 10 Downing Street, as Kemi Badenoch warned his slavery-apology pivot would see Caribbean nations pocket any apology and immediately demand billions more.Suella Braverman, Reform's spokesperson, warned that Andy Burnham's apology pivot was "virtue signalling" and "dangerous," comparing it to "how the Chagos disaster started.
King Charles will deliver his Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting speech in Antigua on Tuesday without changes, even though Prime Minister Andy Burnham has publicly declared he is "open" to a formal state apology for slavery. Buckingham Palace confirmed the King made no amendments to the address after Burnham's Guardian article, with aides noting that Charles cannot weigh in on government policy in his role as head of the Commonwealth. Burnham explicitly ruled out financial reparations, drawing a sharp response from Tory leader Kemi Badenoch, who argued that taxpayers should not be held accountable for acts committed generations ago.
Jamaican reparations campaigner Bert Samuels told the BBC the King should know he is 'walking in a crime scene' when he sets foot in the Caribbean.
Britain was reportedly 'vehement' that reparations should not appear on the formal Chogm agenda, though Burnham has now agreed to a structured dialogue on reparatory justice.
Charles will meet West Indies cricket knights Sir Viv Richards, Sir Richie Richardson, Sir Andy Roberts and Sir Curtly Ambrose at Antigua's independence parade today before opening the summit on Tuesday.
