Ed Miliband has criticised Tony Blair’s approach to Britain’s role in the slave trade.
The foreign secretary accused the former prime minister of taking a “sorry, not sorry” approach by not making a full apology on behalf of the UK when he was in No.10.
Miliband all-but confirmed that Andy Burnham will apologise – but insisted it would not cost the government “a penny more” amid calls from African and Caribbean countries for reparations.
Burnham is set to hold talks at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Antigua over what form the apology will take.
Speaking in 2006 when he was still PM, Blair spoke of his “deep sorrow and regret” for Britain’s involvement in the slave trade.
Speaking to the BBC’s Newscast podcast, Miliband – who is attending the summit alongside the PM – accused previous governments of having had a tendency to “sweep under the carpet” the issue of slavery.
He said Blair “did sort of do a kind of sorry not sorry situation”, adding: “He sort of, yeah, he kind of expressed sorrow, but and then said sorry, and then it was walked back by No 10.”
Asked whether the government might reach the point of issuing a formal apology by the time it hosts the G20 leaders’ summit in Manchester next November, he said: “Broadly speaking, yes.”
When asked whether the new approach could end up costing UK taxpayers a penny more, Miliband said: “No.
“I mean, not… no. And that’s – for us, that’s never been what it’s about,” the foreign secretary said.
“ And that’s why it’s been important that you know, and I did have this conversation with our partners in advance. I said, ‘look, we are going to say we are willing to say that we’re open to an apology, but we’re not going to shift our position on reparations’.
“It’s not for us. It’s not the right answer. It’s not practical. It’s not feasible for us, but there are things we can work on co-operatively.”
He added: “And you know there’s been a lot of acceptance of that, and I mean people have been honestly a bit bruised by the past, what happened in the past, the sense that we just really just wanted to sweep this issue under the carpet and not confront it.
“My sense is there’s a bit of a sigh of relief that OK well at least you know at least there’s a sense of we’ve got a shared interest now in moving the Commonwealth on.”
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