Andy Burnham says he is 'open' to UK making a formal apology for slavery as King Charles arrives in Antigua

King Charles has arrived in Antigua and Barbuda for the latest leg of his Caribbean tour as Andy Burnham signalled the government will consider a formal British apology for slavery.In what would be a significant U-turn on previous government policy, the PM said he is 'open' to the possibility of the UK issuing a formal apology for its role in the transatlantic slave trade.But he ruled out considering financial reparations which he said he did not 'believe was the right answer'.The timing of the PM's announcement ahead of next week's Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting which will be presided over by King Charles brings the tricky topic right back to the top of the agenda.Ahead of the King's tour, Caribbean nations made renewed calls for Britain to apologise for its role in the slavery trade and for reparations.Labour MP Bell Ribeiro-Addy, head of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for African Reparations, said today that a formal state apology would 'cost nothing' and would help to relieve the 'stench of Empire' associated with the King's tour for many people in the Caribbean.She told the BBC the issue made it 'problematic with how people viewed the monarchy and the UK'.Meanwhile, Bert Samuels, Deputy Chair of the Jamaican National Reparations Committee, accused Charles of 'walking in a crime scene' when he visited the Caribbean. King Charles has arrived in Antigua and Barbuda for the latest leg of his Caribbean tour as Andy Burnham signalled the government will consider a formal British apology for slavery King Charles III is welcomed by the Governor-General of Antigua and Barbuda, Sir Rodney WilliamsAll eyes will now be on Charles's opening address on Tuesday to assembled presidents, prime ministers and other national representatives of the 56 member states at the meeting in Antigua and Barbuda.Guided by ministers on what he can say, his position is now likely to reflect the changing stance of the UK government which has previously refused to make a formal apology.Before the trip, it was understood ministers had not advised the King to offer an apology or reparations.However, the King did begin his nine-day trip last Tuesday by acknowledging the 'great suffering of the past' in a speech at a youth rally in the Bahamas.But Mr Burnham told The Guardian today that the government was now 'offering a structured dialogue with those affected by the transatlantic slave trade'.'Listening to calls for a formal apology on behalf of the British state will form an important part of this process and I am open to them,' he said.While he said the British people today could not 'be held liable for historical wrongs, however heinous, that happened in a different age under different laws and in which they played no personal part', he said he was [full of] 'sorrow and regret for the pain and suffering of so many millions.The King has trodden a difficult path on his latest tour with protests on the first leg of his tour in the Bahamas.Historian Sir Anthony Seldon said today that the King's tour was 'the most perilous of his reign so far' and while he could be 'empathetic' about slavery, it was not 'his right' to offer an apology.Suggesting the government's 'change of position in just four weeks' - when it ruled out an apology at the beginning of October - now paved the way for a formal apology next year, he told the BBC it may reflect a recognition of how 'under pressure and beleaguered' the King is.Warning that the King had 'so few cards in his deck' and there could be 'the danger of an episode' such as when the late Queen had had 'eggs thrown at her twice' in the Caribbean, he said an apology might 'take the sting out of it - if it works'.'There is more at stake here – it is the authority of the monarchy and it is the future of the Commonwealth with Russia and China nibbling away at it. Putin had an African leaders' meeting in Moscow last week and China is enormously interested in the new oil and gas reserves in the Caribbean,' he told Radio 4's Today programme.Yesterday before leaving Guyana for his latest stop, Charles acknowledged the country's history of slavery and resistance, paying a sombre visit to Independence Park in the capital city of Georgetown, where dozens of people involved in the Demerara Rebellion of 1823 were hanged. In what would be a significant U-turn on previous government policy, the PM (pictured with Scottish First Minister John Swinney on Friday) said he is 'open' to the possibility of the UK issuing a formal apology for its role in the transatlantic slave tradeHe paused to reflect at the spot where the public executions took place during the brutal crushing of the rebellion.And he listened intently as Guyana minister of culture Steven Jacobs explained the history of the site on the second day of his state visit.In the early 19th century, up to 13,000 enslaved men and women, working across 60 sugar estates in the British colony of Demerara-Essequibo, now modern-day Guyana, refused to work, mistakenly believing that the British Parliament had passed laws granting their freedom that were being withheld from them by plantation owners and officials.Governor John Murray declared martial law, with British troops crushing the peaceful movement, leading to the deaths of up to 500 people.Ahead of the visit, Guyana's President Mohamed Irfaan Ali said Charles had recognised slavery as the darkest days in human history, but an apology would be 'the next step.'Buckingham Palace has previously made it clear the monarch will not be apologising for Britain's role in slavery or discuss reparations, in line with Government policy.The British government has never formally apologised for slavery or offered to pay reparations.Mr Burnham described the transatlantic slave trade, when enslaved Africans were trafficked to the Americas as a 'brutal and barbaric violation' and said Britain must 'face up to the past'.He also acknowledged Commonwealth countries had for years been asking for an 'honest conversation'.Downing Street believes it is in the UK's interest to strengthen the Commonwealth, where China and Russia are seeking to exert influence.Welcoming the PM's comments, Prime Minister of Barbados Mia Mottley said she would engage in good faith while still seeking reparatory justice.Britain had a key role in ending the trade, through Parliament's passage of a law to abolish slavery in 1833.As part of that law, British plantation owners were paid for the loss of their slaves.The UK only finished paying off the debt it incurred to cover the payments in 2015.Ms Bell Ribeiro-Addy said Britain had 'to acknowledge what the British state did' and said it was 'too easy' to dismiss financial reparations but said 'no-one had sent the UK an invoice' and talking about it in financial terms had 'stopped the debate'.