The Prime Minister had initially said compensation was not on his agenda for the conference but the final communique by government heads said the leaders “agreed that the time has come for a meaningful, truthful and respectful conversation towards forging a common future based on equity”.

In the run-up to this year’s summit, there have been growing calls for the UK to apologise and make reparations worth trillions of pounds for the country’s historic role in the slave trade.

Speaking to reporters at a press conference, the Prime Minister claimed “none of the discussions have been about money”.

Reparatory justice for slavery can come in many forms, including financial reparations, debt relief, an official apology, educational programmes, building museums, economic support and public health assistance.

Sir Keir downplayed the prominence of reparations on the summit’s agenda, saying: “The theme of the day was chosen by the prime minister here in Samoa, and she chose resilience and climate.

“So I think that gives you a clear sense of the absolute priority here, and that’s not surprising.”

He added: “I should be really clear here, in the two days we’ve been here, none of the discussions have been about money. Our position is very, very clear in relation to that.”

Asked whether he had damaged his relations with Commonwealth nations in his attempt to take a hard line on the issue, and lost the battle after the final document made explicit mention of reparatory justice, the Prime Minister repeated that the slave trade was “abhorrent” but said “we’ve actually had a very positive two days here in Samoa”.

Bahamas’ Prime Minister Philip Davis had said he would seek a “frank” conversation with Sir Keir on reparatory justice for the slave trade at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM).

Speaking during CHOGM, he said: “Let’s have a conversation about this. We all appreciate this, the horrendous impact that the Transatlantic slave business had on the African diaspora and it requires justice.

“It’s not just about an apology. It’s not about money. It’s about an appreciation and embracing and understanding of what our ancestors went through, that has left a scourge on our race, culturally, mentally and physically.”

The UK’s position on reparations has been not to make an official apology or pay compensation.

A report published last year by the University of West Indies concluded the UK owed more than £18tn in reparations for its role in slavery in 14 Caribbean countries.

The communique said: “Heads, noting calls for discussions on reparatory justice with regard to the trans-Atlantic trade in enslaved Africans and chattel enslavement and recognising the importance of this matter to member states of the Commonwealth, the majority of which share common historical experiences in relation to this abhorrent trade, chattel enslavement, the debilitation and dispossession of Indigenous People, indentureship, colonialism, blackbirding and their enduring effects, agreed that the time has come for a meaningful, truthful and respectful conversation towards forging a common future based on equity.

“Heads further agreed to continue playing an active role in bringing about such inclusive conversations addressing these harms, paying special attention to women and girls, who suffered disproportionately from these appalling tragedies in the history of humanity.”

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Piers Morgan rages at Labour over latest migrant crisis: ‘What are they doing?’

Piers Morgan hit out at the Labour party over their lack of migrant policy (Image: Getty)

Piers Morgan hit out at the Labour Party for their inefficiency after seeing Sky News’ latest report on the number of migrants who had crossed the English channel in 2024.

The channel’s official X account reported: “BREAKING: 424 migrants crossed the English Channel yesterday, taking the 2024 total up to 29,578.

“This means more people have crossed the Channel this year than the whole of 2023.”

Piers raged: “Are Labour actually going to do anything about this? They were very scathing about Tory failure to fix it, and Rwanda etc, but don’t seem to have any plan themselves…”

Piers was soon inundated with messages from his followers, as one said: “Of course they don’t have a plan, as you say it’s all the fault of the Tories, and will be for the next 14 years.

Keir Starmer has been in Samoa for a meeting with the Commonwealth (Image: Getty)

“They’re still stuck in the mentality of being on the opposition benches and a very quickly facing the harsh reality of actually governing.”

Another added: “Of course they won’t do anything.” A third chimed in: “They are going to smash the gangs and do a deal with the French. They’ve said this forever in opposition. It’s easy.”

A fourth agreed: “Typical political dance! Criticising the Tories is easy, but where’s the Labour plan? Let’s see some action, folks!”

A fifth concluded: “None is taking this matter serious and human lives are at risk.”

In 2023, a total of 29,437 migrants made the perilous crossing. In 2022, 45,728 people crossed.

This comes after Piers also hit out at Starmer’s new working person rule, where he implied that people with shares and assets wouldn’t be classed as “working person”, and therefore may face a rise in taxes.

Piers asked: “What? Last time I checked, I’m a working person…”