Political leaders are planning to press the United Kingdom for a formal apology for slavery at a Commonwealth summit in Samoa this week, when King Charles III presides over the talks just days after hearing a rebuke from Indigenous senator Lidia Thorpe over colonisation.
Commonwealth leaders also want the UK to pay reparations for slavery despite a clear signal from British Prime Minister Keir Starmer that he will not agree to the contentious demand.
The clash over the history of the British Empire sets up a tense discussion at the summit, which is held every two years and is expected to be attended by leaders from 56 member states, when differences on climate change are also on the agenda.
King Charles III left Sydney for the Samoan capital of Apia on Wednesday morning to attend the meeting, which he will lead for the first time as …