King Charles's tour of the Caribbean has been thrown into confusion after Andy Burnham declared that he was 'open' to apologising for Britain's role in the slave trade.
The Prime Minister's comments immediately triggered calls from leaders in the West Indies for Britain to pay billions of pounds in reparations – and sparked questions about the UK's official stance.
Journalists travelling with the King had been assured as late as Thursday evening that the Government's policy was 'absolutely no apology'.
Meanwhile, the issue has prompted Tory leader Kemi Badenoch to ask whether the UK should boycott Commonwealth summits if they become 'an exercise in presenting Britain with demands for cash'.
Mr Burnham's statement has led to speculation as to whether the King, who is head of the Commonwealth, will be forced to make a public apology on behalf of Britain, or at least drastically change his keynote speech to a gathering of leaders in Antigua on Tuesday.
Mr Burnham, who will fly to the Caribbean for the Commonwealth heads of government meeting (CHOGM), told The Guardian that he wanted to offer a 'structured dialogue' with those affected by slavery, saying: 'Listening to calls for a formal apology on behalf of the British state will form an important part of this process. I am open to them.'
He also expressed his personal 'sorrow and regret', while rejecting demands for reparations.
However, his remarks were seized on by Mia Mottley, the prime minister of Barbados, as opening the door to exactly that. She thanked Mr Burnham for 'breaking new ground and recognising that this is the right thing, and the moral thing, to do by ensuring that we move to the next stage of engagement on this difficult and emotional issue'.
King Charles arrives at V.C. Bird International Airport in Osbourn, Antigua, at the start of his visit to Antigua and Barbuda ahead of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting
Andy Burnham chairs a meeting of the National Economic Council in Glasgow on Friday
And Philip J. Pierre, the prime minister of St Lucia and chairman of the Caribbean Community of 15 nations, said: 'No British prime minister has gone this far before... We are ready to engage.
'The Caribbean Community does not accept that reparations are "not the right answer". Nor do we accept the argument that responsibility falls away because the people of Britain today played no personal part in these crimes.'
Last night, both Downing Street and Buckingham Palace insisted that the King had not been blindsided, and that the Palace had been aware of Mr Burnham's 'significant' comments in advance.
But Robert Hardman, the royal biographer and Mail writer, said the PM's intervention was a major blunder.
'This will not draw a line, as the PM claims, but will do the opposite. The reparationists have already said any apology is a first step on a path to legal, then financial redress. It could make the Chagos fiasco look like small change.
'It is also very awkward for the King, as monarch of both the UK and of many nations demanding compensation. He has always dutifully maintained the government's "no apology" position. Now the PM has done a U-turn slap bang in the middle of the royal tour, blowing up months of careful planning and eclipsing all the King's forward-looking engagements with toxic arguments about the past.'
Charles's tour, designed to strengthen trade and diplomatic ties in the Caribbean, has, so far, widely been considered a success. And he was already prepared to face a storm at the biannual CHOGM in Antigua, with campaigners warning him 'not to come empty-handed'.
Last week, he visited Guyana and The Bahamas, where a reparations committee had urged him to issue a formal apology for the Crown's 'undeniable' links to slavery. 'For King Charles to come to our island and not be prepared to apologise for the wrongs of the past is unacceptable,' its chairman, Dr Niambi Hall Campbell-Dean had said.
In a briefing ahead of the tour, Foreign Office officials confirmed that the government 'has not advised His Majesty to apologise or pay reparations' in line with official policy. As a constitutional monarch, Charles must act on the advice of his government.
People take part in a demonstration calling for reparations for Britain's role in the transatlantic slave trade in Georgetown, Guyana
King Charles greets people as he visits the Kingston Seawall in Georgetown on October 30
As a result, the King has been forced to ignore calls by local campaigners to address the issue during his eight-day trip, instead incorporating acknowledgement of the 'shameful aspects' and 'great suffering and injustices of the past' in a speech in the Barbadian capital Nassau. He also made a moving visit to a site where rebelling slaves were executed by the British in Georgetown, Guyana.
The issue of reparatory justice for former colonies affected by slavery has been a running sore for decades. The British government has remained firm in its opposition to paying any financial compensation, preferring to focus on 'mutual cooperation' in areas such as education and economic development. Campaigners, however, have insisted that the UK will have to pay up eventually, and were buoyed by a landmark United Nations General Assembly resolution adopted in March which declared the transatlantic trafficking of enslaved Africans as a 'grave crime against humanity'.
Last night, royal sources insisted that the Palace had been informed about Mr Burnham's words in a 'timely manner' and insisted that no alterations will have to be made to the King's CHOGM speech or programme.
A No 10 source also said the Palace had been aware of Mr Burnham's words as part of the 'usual dialogue' with the Government, and echoed the Palace's words about them being informed in a 'timely manner', adding: 'It would be incorrect to suggest otherwise.'
A Buckingham Palace spokesman said: 'The King will not shy away from confronting the most shameful aspects of the past during this visit. You may therefore expect him to address them in his speech with unflinching honesty, sincere sorrow, and respect for the wider discussions that will be taking place between relevant governments on this issue at CHOGM and beyond.
'He will be speaking at CHOGM in his capacity as head of the Commonwealth. It would not be appropriate for him to address matters of particular policy relating to the UK government's position.'
A source added that the King was well-practised on the diplomatic tightrope and not averse to taking on visits with challenging issues at play, seeing it as his role to 'bat for Britain' and the Commonwealth and to 'transcend' politics.
A protester from the Guyana Reparations Committee holds a placard as people demonstrate on the day King Charles visits Georgetown
Ms Badenoch said: 'Slavery was an evil in which people from every continent and region participated.
'There is no reason British taxpayers today should be held financially responsible for things that happened generations before any of us were born.
'And I have even less patience for political elites in Commonwealth countries who don't know how to make their own citizens prosperous looking for another opportunity to blame Britain. If every Commonwealth summit becomes an exercise in presenting Britain with demands for cash, then we need to start asking if it is worth the effort.'
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