Oh dear. The story of the day may well become the story of the election campaign as Prime Minister Rishi Sunak struggles to explain why he missed part of Thursday’s D-day commemorations in Normandy to film a pre-recorded ITV interview. On Friday morning, Suank apologised on Twitter for snubbing aspects of the 80th anniversary events — which were attended by a number of international leaders including France’s Emmanuel Macron, Germany’s Olaf Scholz and President Biden — and at lunchtime the PM eventually faced the cameras.
A solemn Sunak told journalists:
I’ve participated in a number of events, in Portsmouth and France, to honour those who risked their lives to defend our freedom and our values 80 years ago. The itinerary for these events was set weeks ago, before the start of the general election campaign, and having participated in all the British events with British veterans, I returned home before the international leaders’ event later in the day. On reflection, that was a mistake and I apologise.
But the Prime Minister’s show of contrition hasn’t convinced everyone, with one 98-year-old D-day veteran saying that Sunak ‘let the country down’ while a Tory candidate told Sky News that the PM’s actions show ‘disdain for the armed forces’. And Mr S doesn’t envy Penny Mordant much, either. The Royal Navy reservist is fighting the Conservatives’ corner in tonight’s BBC election debate and will no doubt face some rather challenging questions on Sunak’s slip-up. ‘Judge me by my actions,’ was the PM’s message to voters today. Er, they certainly are…
Watch the clip here:
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