Fury as Commonwealth chief tells King to apologise for slavery and 'discuss' reparations at summit next month

King Charles III should apologise for slavery and 'the time has come' for a discussion about reparations, the Commonwealth secretary-general has claimed.

Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey said Commonwealth countries want the monarch to issue an apology for the transatlantic slave trade and him doing so 'wouldn't hurt'.

She said: 'If you're asking my personal view [on reparations], I believe the time has come for that conversation. It has come. And I don't believe we can run away from it. 

'But it is important to determine the form that reparations should take, and that is something that will emerge eventually as countries sit around the table to discuss. 

'As difficult a subject as it is, I believe that countries will come to some conclusions. So whether it takes the form of financial reparations or reparations in kind, that is for the countries to decide on. I believe that the time has come for that conversation.'

Ghana's former foreign minister told Sky News reparations could be 'concessional financing', such as how debt was treated, 'climate issues' and the 'return of artefacts'.

Asked whether the King should apologise for slavery, Ms Botchwey also said: 'That's what the countries have asked for... they've asked for an apology from the King. It wouldn't hurt to have that. It wouldn't hurt to have that. Not at all.' 

But shadow home secretary Chris Philp told the Daily Mail: 'This is nonsense. People today aren't responsible for what happened hundreds of years ago. Many societies appallingly practised slavery - including lots of African ones. The UK was the first to enforce abolition. Calls for reparations are absurd and shouldn't even be entertained.'

It comes after Buckingham Palace said the King's Caribbean tour next week will not shy away from 'the darkest days of our past' as debates about slavery and reparations continue among Commonwealth nations.

King Charles III and Queen Camilla meet Commonwealth secretary-general Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey during a reception at St James's Palace in London on October 14

Charles is facing renewed calls to apologise for the UK's role in the transatlantic trade in enslaved people, in the run-up to a major gathering of Commonwealth leaders he will attend with Queen Camilla in Antigua and Barbuda next month.

The issue of reparations – financial compensation or other forms of redress from slave trading nations – is likely to be another topic he is asked to address when he makes two solo trips – a state visit to Guyana and a tour of The Bahamas.

The King follows guidance of his ministers and it is understood the Government has not advised him to offer an apology or reparations, in keeping with established policy.

The United Nations General Assembly overwhelmingly backed a resolution declaring the transatlantic slave trade 'the gravest crime against humanity', with the UK and EU member states among 52 countries that abstained during the vote in March.

Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband, who is expected to attend the Commonwealth summit with Prime Minister Andy Burnham, recently reiterated the Government's position.

He said during an interview with Politico: 'I don't think reparations are the answer, and I've had those discussions already with some of our Commonwealth colleagues.'

And a Buckingham Palace spokesperson said earlier this month: 'There are important discussions taking place in various fora about colonial legacy and the intergenerational impact of the transatlantic trade in enslaved persons.

'While these are primarily matters for Governments to address, His Majesty's previous statements on them have been unequivocal, describing them as an "atrocity" which "forever stains our history".

Commonwealth secretary-general Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey speaks to Sky News yesterday

'The visit programme will therefore not shy away from "the darkest days of our past", as His Majesty has described them, but – in keeping with the wishes of our host nations – it will principally be oriented to the vibrant present and promising future of each country, with visit programmes developed in close consultation with their governments to reflect their individual priorities.

'That said, it is important to note here the work His Majesty himself has done over many years both to acknowledge the wrongs of the past and to find creative ways to "right inequalities that endure".

'As you would therefore expect, opportunities will be found during the visit to reflect and renew his personal, wholehearted and continuing commitment to that process.'

Britain's royal family has a long association with the transportation and selling of enslaved people for profit.

Elizabeth I backed the lucrative dealings of John Hawkins, one of Britain's first slave traders, and Charles II encouraged the expansion of the enterprise, granting a charter to a group of men, the Royal Adventurers, who later became the Royal African Company, and invested private funds in the firm, as did the Duke of York.

The company's charter said the initials 'DY' for Duke of York were branded on the left buttock or breast of many of the slaves the company shipped to what were called the 'sugar islands' in the Caribbean.

As the slavery abolitionists campaigned against the trade, they were opposed by the Duke of Clarence, George III's son, later to become William IV.

Charles, head of the Commonwealth, acknowledged the 'appalling atrocity of slavery', describing it as something 'which forever stains our history', when he attended the ceremony marking Barbados's historic transition to a republic in 2021.

Jamaican culture minister Olivia Grange holds a petition at Buckingham Palace last month asking the King to refer three questions about transatlantic chattel slavery to the Privy Council

A year later, he described how he was on a personal journey of discovery and was continuing to 'deepen my own understanding of slavery's enduring impact', in a speech at the opening of a Commonwealth summit hosted by Rwanda.

Barbados's Prime Minister Mia Mottley, whose administration ditched Queen Elizabeth II, led a group of Caribbean leaders who launched a new slavery reparations manifesto during a reparations conference held in Ghana in June.

The UK Government's position on reparations is well established. It acknowledges the trade in enslaved people was abhorrent and its impact is still felt today, but it will not pay financial reparations for historical acts that did not break international laws at the time and is committed to continued dialogue with Commonwealth nations.

Last month a delegation from Jamaica travelled to the UK to file a petition asking the King to refer three questions about transatlantic chattel slavery to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, the Caribbean island's highest court of appeal.

Olivia Grange, Jamaica's minister of culture, gender, entertainment and sport, asked why her country should not seek slavery reparations when Britain was still paying off debt linked to slave-owner compensation just 11 years ago.

Charles will begin his Caribbean tour by visiting The Bahamas from October 27 to 29, followed by the state visit to Guyana, October 29 to 30 and attend Chogm during his trip to Antigua and Barbuda with the Queen from November 1 to 4.

A palace spokesperson previously highlighted the King's comments about slavery during other Chogms, adding: 'And it's not just about what His Majesty has said, it's about what he's done – the personal support for Commonwealth education programmes since the last Chogm, and his support, over many decades, for young people through the King's Trust.

'This shows that he has always engaged in ways in which the inequalities of the past can be righted. But as far as reparations and apologies go, that is a matter for the Government.'

A Government spokesperson said: 'The transatlantic slave trade was abhorrent. We fully recognise its horrific impacts and the ongoing strength of feeling it arouses. The UK's position is clear: we do not and will not pay reparations.'