The organisation has long resisted tackling the legacy of slavery in a public forum but a reckoning with its roots in the British Empire has returned to the agenda through the election process of a new secretary-general.

Asked by a reporter if it was “disgraceful” that Australian politicians “are heckling the King”, Starmer said he was looking forward to joining Charles at the Commonwealth summit in Samoa.

“I think he’s doing a fantastic job, and we should remember in the context of health, that he is out there doing his public service notwithstanding, you know, the health challenges he himself has had – so I think he’s doing a great job,” Starmer said of the King’s cancer diagnosis and treatment.

Calls for reparations to address historical wrongs across what the late Elizabeth II called the “family of nations” have gained momentum and several institutions and countries have acknowledged their past.

But in response to the growing campaign, a Downing Street spokesman said: “Reparations are not on the agenda for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. The government’s position on this has not changed, we do not pay reparations.”

Asked about an apology, the spokesman added: “The position on apology remains the same, we won’t be offering an apology at CHOGM, but we will continue to engage with partners on the issues as we work with them to tackle the pressing challenges of today and indeed for the future generations.”

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The King is the ceremonial head of the Commonwealth, whose members include west African and Caribbean countries affected by the slave trade. About 10 million people were enslaved by Britain and European nations between the 15th and 19th centuries and sent to work on plantations across the Atlantic in the Caribbean and the Americas.

Charles has previously signalled his support for research into the British monarchy’s historical links with transatlantic slavery, after the emergence last year of a document showing a predecessor’s stake in a slave-trading company.

As Prince of Wales at the last CHOGM in Rwanda two years ago, he addressed the issue for the first time, telling leaders: “I cannot describe the depths of my personal sorrow at the suffering of so many, as I continue to deepen my own understanding of slavery’s enduring impact.”

Last year a United Nations judge claimed the UK owes about £18 trillion ($35 trillion) in reparations for its involvement in slavery in 14 countries while Reverend Dr Michael Banner, the dean of Trinity College Cambridge, claimed earlier this year that Britain owes the Caribbean more than £200 billion in slavery reparations.

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