Prime Minister Andy Burnham has arrived in Antigua and Barbuda for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, after a flight from London made a detour to Manchester to collect him and his wife.
The flight took off from London Stansted at around 6am on Monday, November 2, but Burnham was not on board with UK delegates. He was picked up at Manchester along with his wife, Marie-France van Heel, after the flight's 34-minute journey, according to reports.
Downing Street defends travel arrangements
Downing Street has declined to say how much the stop in Manchester cost, with some reports claiming the detour would have added an extra £20,000, though these figures have not been confirmed. The plane was grounded for around an hour before continuing via Canada for a refuelling stop.
The Prime Minister's official spokesman said: "The Prime Minister's travel arrangements are made on the basis of security, operational requirements, and value for money for the taxpayer. The Prime Minister's travel arrangements reflect where he was carrying out official government business at the end of last week.
"As you know, he spent the day in Scotland on Friday, returned to Manchester to work from Number 10 North on Friday evening. In terms of costs, travel costs will be published in the usual way."
King and Queen tour slavery museum
Burnham landed in the Caribbean on the same day that King Charles and Queen Camilla saw slavery artefacts, from shackles to ship diagrams packed with enslaved people, as they learned about Antigua and Barbuda's past at the museum at Antigua's Government House.
The issue of slavery, an apology from Britain and the payment of reparations are set to dominate the Commonwealth summit, which the King will open in the Antiguan capital on Tuesday, November 3. Burnham has said he is open to "listening to calls for a formal apology" from nations affected by the transatlantic slave trade, but has ruled out considering financial reparations.
During the museum tour, Charles peered into a display case containing ceramic medallions depicting slaves, made in support of abolition, shackles, and a conch shell used by enslaved people to call meetings and summon them to work. As they left, the couple walked past former slave quarters believed to be the oldest of their kind in the East Caribbean.
Cuthbert Forbes, senior assistant to Lady Williams, the wife of the Governor-General Sir Rodney Williams, showed the King and Queen three paintings of enslaved people plotting an escape before being caught. He said about the visit: "It's not about confronting them (King and Queen) with slavery, (but) telling that story for us as black Caribbean people, this story of how far we have come and battles we have fought."
