UK backs time-bound slavery talks but Miliband rules out reparations

Commonwealth leaders meeting in Antigua said the UK agreed to "structured, time-bound, inclusive and good-faith" talks addressing the "historical harms" of the transatlantic slave trade, according to a joint communique released at the end of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.

The statement said the time had come for a "meaningful, truthful and respectful conversation towards forging a common future based on equity." Officials said the timeframe for the talks would be agreed at a later date. Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband suggested they are likely to conclude in around a year.

The agreement followed Prime Minister Andy Burnham indicating openness to a formal apology for the UK's role in the slave trade while ruling out direct reparations. Miliband told the BBC that reparations were "not feasible" and that London would not "shift our position on reparations." He added: "It's not the right answer. It's not practical. It's not feasible for us, but there are things we can work on cooperatively."

Miliband also hinted that a formal apology could come next year when the UK hosts a G20 leaders' summit in Manchester. Asked whether the UK could reach that point by the meeting next November, he said: "Broadly speaking, yes."

The agreement marks a formal institutional step toward addressing historical harms. But the simultaneous refusal to consider financial reparations sets up a tension between symbolic apology and material redress. How the talks are structured — and whether they lead to a formal apology — could shape the UK's diplomatic relationships with Commonwealth nations and set expectations for similar processes elsewhere.