Commonwealth leaders are set to elect a new head of the organisation who favours Britain being made to pay slavery and climate reparations.Sir Keir Starmer will have to face down calls for the UK to hand billions of pounds to former colonies when he attends the group’s biannual summit in Samoa this week.

Britain will not bring the issue of reparations for historical transatlantic slavery to the table at a meeting of Commonwealth nations that began in Samoa on Monday, but is open to engage with leaders who want to discuss it.

The UK owes India "more money than it has" in reparations for colonialism, a leading contender for the next Commonwealth Secretary-General has claimed. The controversial statement comes as the Commonwealth prepares for its upcoming summit in Samoa.