BROWNE FIRES BACK AT BADENOCH OVER SLAVERY REPARATIONS

Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne has attacked British Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch for rejecting calls for Britain to apologise for and compensate nations harmed by the transatlantic slave trade.

Speaking to ITV News on Sunday, November 1, Browne called Badenoch's stance "misguided" and remarked: "No wonder she is the leader of the opposition and not the Prime Minister."

Badenoch had told BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg that the Commonwealth should move past historical grievances. "The transatlantic slave trade happened centuries ago. It is time for the Commonwealth to start looking forwards, not endlessly backwards," she said. She also cautioned that a British apology might trigger compensation claims.

Browne rejected that argument. He acknowledged that British Prime Minister Andy Burnham faces domestic political obstacles but said those do not eliminate the case for reparations. "I understand the politics in the UK, in which it may be a difficult proposition for him to agree to any form of reparations, but that does not negate the need for reparations," he told ITV News.

Without financial redress, Browne warned, history risks repeating itself. "If there is no compensation, there's likely to be a repeat of those atrocities sometime in the future, and you can see what is happening globally already," he said. He proposed funding reparations through Britain's overseas development budget.

Browne also disputed the notion that Caribbean nations are seeking charity. He contended that slavery's consequences remain real and that the wealth Britain accumulated through enslaving Africans built the nation's prosperity. The wealth generated through the enslavement and exploitation of Africans helped establish Britain's historical prosperity, he argued.

St Lucia Prime Minister Philip J. Pierre, who leads CARICOM, has taken a similar line. He has signalled that the regional bloc will engage in structured talks but cautioned that any dialogue that excludes reparations cannot be deemed complete.

Burnham has shifted Britain's official stance by expressing openness to a formal apology. He has, however, refused direct financial compensation, saying current British taxpayers should not bear the cost of historical wrongs. His government has instead offered structured dialogue and practical cooperation, along with £40 million in development assistance for the Caribbean over three years. British officials have stressed this funding is not reparations.

Burnham will attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Antigua on Tuesday, November 3, where he has pledged to hear member nations' views. King Charles III is also attending. Britain's colonial past and slavery's legacy are expected to dominate the agenda.