‘Lammy puts other countries first!’ Jenrick rages against reparations as Tory leadership hopeful vows to halve foreign aid to invest in defence

Asked by Patrick Christys if Britain should “pay a penny” to countries like Barbados, Jenrick said: “No. Absolutely not.”

He added: “I don’t think our country has a uniquely bad past. I am proud of our history.

“We abolished slavery 200 years ago. We paid a high price for that, British sailors fought on the high seas when other countries perpetuated slavery.

“We should be proud of our history, we should be looking forward to the future now working with allies and partners around the world, but not paying reparations.”

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The man hoping to take the Tory reins from Rishi Sunak went onto hit out at the Foreign Secretary, accusing him of putting other countries’ interests first.

He said: “David Lammy seems to always put other countries’ interests first.

“He just gave the Chagos Islands back to Mauritius, an ally of China. That is an act of self-harm. He just makes mistake after mistake.”

It was put to Jenrick that the process was set in motion by the Tories, something the 42-year-old said wished was not the case.

“That was a mistake”, he said.

“But I hope the Conservatives would not have concluded these negotiations in the way Lammy and Starmer have done.”

Downing Street has ruled out the possibility of reparations being paid, something which could put Sir Keir Starmer on a collision course with other nations at the Commonwealth heads of government (Chogm) summit.

All three candidates to succeed Patricia Scotland as Chogm secretary general have said they support reparations for countries affected by slavery and colonisation.

Jenrick also set out plans for lessening the tax burden on Britons, saying cutting Britain’s foreign aid budget will help.

“We shouldn’t be spending money on countries like India”, he said.

“You can’t have an armed forces as depleted as ours with ships, reported this week, not even having a crew to get out to sea.

“I don’t want to see the state get bigger, I don’t to see taxes get higher, that’s why we I would take money from our international aid budget and spend it on defence.

“That is the way we can defend the interests of the British people and project power overseas.”