Sir Keir Starmer faces a blazing row over demands for Britain to pay an eye-watering £18 trillion in reparations for the slave trade.
Commonwealth heads of government are understood to be preparing to defy the UK by agreeing plans to examine reparatory justice during a summit in Samoa.
Officials are said to be negotiating an agreement to do further research and begin a “meaningful conversation” about the issue which could potentially leave the UK owing trillions of pounds.
Reparatory justice for slavery can come in many forms, including financial reparations, debt relief, an official apology, educational programmes, building museums, economic support and public health assistance.
Philip Davis, the Prime Minister of the Bahamas, told how he is looking for a “frank” conversation with Sir Keir about reparations during a meeting of Commonwealth leaders this week.
He said: “I hope to be able to have that conversation with him and have a frank talk with him. “
Downing Street previously said reparations would not be on the agenda for the gathering.
But Bahamian foreign minister Frederick Mitchell said that Caricom countries – a community of 15 member states and six associate members across the Americas and the Caribbean – “want the conversation to start about it”.
He added: “There appears to be even a reluctance to have the conversation start.
“Many of the institutions in the UK have already conceded the point of apology, the British Government isn’t quite there.
“But at this time, the discussion needs to be had about the history of this and the ill effects of what happened after slavery was abolished, which continue to affect our societies today.”
A report last year by the University of West Indies, backed by a judge on the International Court of Justice, concluded that the UK owed more than £18 trillion in reparations for its role in slavery in 14 Caribbean countries.
Lisa Nandy, Sir Keir’s Culture Secretary, said the Prime Minister is “right” to want to move forward and not discuss payments for Britain’s historical role in the trans-Atlantic slave trade
Asked whether the time has come to consider reparations, she told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that “the Prime Minister has been very clear on this”.
She said: “We have heard those concerns loud and clear, and in my former role before the election – leading for the Labour Party in opposition on international development – I had many discussions with many of the people who are currently at the Commonwealth Heads of Government summit.
“But the Prime Minister has been clear and I believe he’s right that we have to focus on the future.”
As he travelled to the Commonwealth Heads of Government summit, Sir Keir insisted calls for reparations for slavery were not on his agenda.
“On the question of which way we’re facing, I think we should be facing forward,” he told reporters.
He added: “I’ve talked to a lot of our Commonwealth colleagues in the Commonwealth family and they’re facing real challenges on things like climate in the here and now.”