How did Keir Starmer end up in this reparations bind?

Ahead of the Commonwealth summit in Samoa, Keir Starmer told the travelling press pack that he wanted to look forward rather than have ‘very long endless discussions about reparations on the past.’ Rather than discuss the possibility of payments to Commonwealth countries to apologise for Britain’s historical role in the slave trade, Starmer wanted to talk about areas of collaboration on climate and humanitarian work. By his own metric, the Prime Minister appears to have failed.

While government figures repeatedly said reparation talks were not on the table, Starmer leaves Samoa having agreed with Commonwealth countries that Britain will discuss reparations for slavery next year. Despite opposition from the UK government, the 56 Commonwealth countries pressed on. The official communique marking the end of the conference includes a paragraph on ‘reparatory justice’. The document was published later than expected – in part this is being blamed (which Downing Street denies) on discussions about the wording on reparations.