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Labour MP and former shadow minister Bell Ribeiro-Addy has warned the “Commonwealth will crumble” if the federal government doesn’t reopen talks on reparations for the slave commerce.
It comes because the prime minister faces rising calls for to rethink the UK’s place on the problem as he heads to Samoa for a main Commonwealth assembly.
On Monday, Downing Street rejected calls for, saying the problem of reparations is “not on the agenda” for the occasion and “we won’t be offering an apology”.
But Ms Ribeiro-Addy, a former shadow immigration minister, instructed BBC Radio 4’s Today programme “an apology is absolutely free”, dismissing makes an attempt from each this authorities and the earlier authorities to focus on the current slightly than unpick wrongs of the previous.
Speaking about Sir Keir’s method, the MP for Clapham and Brixton Hill mentioned: “We still can’t seem to be able to go beyond the line of sorrow and deep regret, which are not fitting sentiments for one of the worst crimes in humanity.
“I mean, there are many different ways to go about compensation and reparations. Reparations is not just about finances, but an apology is absolutely free.”
She warned that it’s inconceivable for nations impacted by the slave commerce to focus on the current “unless they are given a fighting chance”, including: “They continue to suffer the economic impact of enslavement and colonialism, and we have a responsibility for that, whether or not we were directly involved.
“We also have to remember that … the UK government took the largest loan it ever had to pay off the slave owners, not the enslaved.
“We only finished paying that one off in 2015 which means that people like myself, the Windrush generation, yourselves, we all contributed to paying slave owners – people whose families remain some of the richest in society.
“I worry about the government not looking at the issue now, because, you know, if we’re not careful, the Commonwealth will crumble.”
It comes after Labour MPs Clive Lewis, Nadia Whittome, Marsha de Cordova and former minister Dawn Butler all piled strain on Sir Keir to change tack.
Meanwhile, not too long ago resurfaced footage confirmed overseas secretary David Lammy, who will be a part of Sir Keir in Samoa, supporting the case for reparations whereas he was a backbench Labour MP within the wake of the Windrush scandal.
The prime minister, who will arrive in Samoa tomorrow, is ready to face a showdown subsequent 12 months with a delegation of Caribbean nations over the problem.
The 15 member states of the Caribbean Community (Caricom), who’ve beforehand set out formal calls for for reparations in a 10-point plan, are planning a delegation to the UK in 2025 with an up to date checklist of calls for.
This 12 months’s gathering of the heads of presidency for the 56 Commonwealth nations will see leaders elect the brand new secretary common. All three candidates searching for the highest job have known as for reparations to nations that had been affected by slavery and colonialism.
While the prime minister’s official spokesperson insisted he wouldn’t be discussing reparations on the Commonwealth Heads of Government assembly (Chogm) this week, sources in Samoa instructed TheTelegraph {that a} draft of the agenda features a part on slavery reparations.
They warned that Sir Keir “cannot escape” the problem.
But the PM’s spokesperson mentioned on Monday: “The government’s position on this has not changed, we do not pay reparations.
“The prime minister is attending this week’s summit to discuss shared challenges and opportunities faced by the Commonwealth including driving growth across our economies.”
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