UK commits to ‘time-bound’ talks on slavery apology

The UK has signed up to “structured, time-bound, inclusive and good-faith” talks that address the “historical harms” of the transatlantic slave trade, Commonwealth leaders in Antigua have said.

The formal conclusions marking the end of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, known as the communique, is the joint text setting out what has been agreed.

The 18 page document, external includes a paragraph in which the leaders “welcome the agreement of the Government of the United Kingdom to engage in a structured, time-bound, inclusive and good-faith dialogue with affected parties addressing the transatlantic trafficking of enslaved Africans and its historical harms”.

It comes after Prime Minister Andy Burnham opened the door to a formal apology on behalf of the UK for its role in the slave trade, while ruling out the prospect of reparations.

Officials said the timeframe for the talks would be agreed at a later date, though the Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband has suggested they are likely to conclude in around a year.

Asked whether the government might reach the point of a formal apology by the time it hosts the G20 leaders’ summit in Manchester next November, Miliband told BBC Newscast, external: “Broadly speaking, yes.”