Labour MPs including Bell Ribeiro-Addy and Clive Lewis have urged their leader to take up the cause.
No 10 has already indicated that it will not bow to demands for reparations, despite growing pressure, with a spokesman saying: “Just to be clear, reparations are not on the agenda for the Commonwealth heads of government meeting.
“Secondly, the Government’s position has not changed. We do not pay reparations.”
Delegation next year
The Government faces another showdown: a Caricom delegation will come to the UK in 2025 with an updated list of reparations demands. David Lammy’s Foreign Office staff may have to receive the delegation for reasons of protocol.
Among Caribbean campaigners, it had been thought that a Labour government might be more amenable to a cause which had been ignored by the Tories.
But, frustrated by the reluctance of European governments to discuss reparations, Caricom campaigners have since pivoted to targeting institutions which would have a freer hand to apologise and make payments.